M.D. Sass LLC Boosts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

M.D. Sass LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,788 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 0.3% of M.D. Sass LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. M.D. Sass LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 10.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $415.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $432.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.81. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 34.38%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

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.

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