Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,184 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,124 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.5% of Cullinan Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Cullinan Associates Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $81,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant's stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $436.60. 54,224,020 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,730,301. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $427.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $428.42. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $366.50 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $508.46.

About Microsoft

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.