Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Boosted by AdvisorNet Financial Inc

AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,713 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.7% of AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 24,443 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,176,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 77,005 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,907,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Exeter Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 19,847 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,450,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 74,142 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $27,832,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Capital Advisors llc grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 43,940 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,494,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.68.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.8%

Microsoft stock opened at $490.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $491.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $441.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $420.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total value of $460,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at $21,647,150.58. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently 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.