Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Increased by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,207,692 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 22,050 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.0% of Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $508,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.0% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 67,011 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $21,159,000 after acquiring an additional 5,530 shares in the last quarter. Leisure Capital Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the third quarter. Leisure Capital Management now owns 23,175 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,317,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.9% in the third quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 8,966 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,831,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,421 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cook Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 65.3% during the third quarter. Cook Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,190 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 2,050 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $4.81 on Tuesday, reaching $432.68. 14,521,926 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,070,168. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $433.60. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $416.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $403.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $465.00 target price (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $463.69.

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.

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