Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. Invests $660,000 in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,567 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $660,000. Microsoft makes up about 0.5% of Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Birch Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 33,463 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,227 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $5,748,000. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $254,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 221,844 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $93,507,000 after acquiring an additional 6,378 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 21,077 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,884,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $408.43 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $428.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $422.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 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 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,000 shares of company stock worth $14,333,540 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.