Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Boosted by Better Money Decisions LLC

Better Money Decisions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,446 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 0.8% of Better Money Decisions LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Better Money Decisions LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,162,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,762,902 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,987,007 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,152,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,190 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Microsoft by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,375,375 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,749,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796,956 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 10,671,615 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,369,562,000 after buying an additional 88,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,620,705 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,353,488,000 after buying an additional 207,591 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.6 %

Microsoft stock opened at $407.57 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $275.37 and a twelve month high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $414.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $386.93.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $434.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.