Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Increased by Essex Savings Bank

Essex Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,517 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,570 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.1% of Essex Savings Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Essex Savings Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,567,258,000 after buying an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in Microsoft by 47,196.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 4,834,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,160,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,824,436 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Microsoft by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,963,863 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,566,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,404,348 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in Microsoft by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 5,344,566 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,299,767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938,304 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 31,648.5% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,871,892 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865,996 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $1.76 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $417.19. The company had a trading volume of 17,575,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,871,539. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company's fifty day moving average is $428.83 and its 200 day moving average is $427.23. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $384.81 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $511.62.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.