Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Invests $1.94 Million in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,518 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,944,000. Microsoft comprises 1.6% of Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 241.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant's stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

MSFT stock opened at $436.60 on Friday. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $427.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $428.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $366.50 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price 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. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $508.46.

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.