Certified Advisory Corp Increases Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Certified Advisory Corp lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,540 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 10.1% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $510.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $27.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $414.99. The stock had a trading volume of 53,865,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,496,486. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $432.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

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.