Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Morse Asset Management Inc

Morse Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 42.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,459 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,116 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 6.3% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP grew its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 39,743 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,763,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,413,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 190,082 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $84,889,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $415.82 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $385.58 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $431.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $423.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft 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.