Cooper Financial Group Acquires 4,248 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cooper Financial Group grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,615 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 4,248 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.8% of Cooper Financial Group's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Cooper Financial Group's holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.48, for a total value of $423,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 56,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,931,278.28. This represents a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.4 %

MSFT traded down $5.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $410.36. The company had a trading volume of 13,673,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,098,506. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $425.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $422.79. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.