GenTrust LLC Raises Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

GenTrust LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 51.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,838 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,728 shares during the period. GenTrust LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP grew its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 39,743 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the second quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,277 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,661,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.3% during the second quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 17,187 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,682,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $27.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $414.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 47,641,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,904,332. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $432.55 and a 200 day moving average of $424.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $385.58 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 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. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.24.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.