Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Quantum Financial Advisors LLC

Quantum Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,485 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.0% of Quantum Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after buying an additional 15,701,937 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,162,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,762,902 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MSFT traded up $3.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $464.73. The company had a trading volume of 4,768,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,646,543. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $428.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $412.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $467.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 24th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

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.