Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Joseph Group Capital Management

Joseph Group Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 21.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,371 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 1.5% of Joseph Group Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Joseph Group Capital Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake 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 period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $512.66.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $2.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $444.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,539,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,490,811. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $431.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $425.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

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.