Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 273,241 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 22,913 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.1% of Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $117,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 441,738 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $190,080,000 after purchasing an additional 33,540 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Microsoft by 12.7% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 316,860 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $135,622,000 after purchasing an additional 35,828 shares during the last quarter. Elite Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% during the third quarter. Elite Wealth Management Inc. now owns 325,486 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $140,057,000 after purchasing an additional 6,260 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.6% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 703,324 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $302,640,000 after buying an additional 17,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Noesis Capital Mangement Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 16,025 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,896,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $410.92 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $432.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.