PFW Advisors LLC Takes Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,976 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $4,205,000. Microsoft comprises about 1.3% of PFW Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management increased its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.9 %

MSFT stock traded down $7.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $408.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 27,440,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,130,024. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $425.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $422.69. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 26.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820 over the last quarter. 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.