Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Prospera Financial Services Inc

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 206,981 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 24,040 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.3% of Prospera Financial Services Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Prospera Financial Services Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $89,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 7.6% during the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock worth $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $882,816,000 after purchasing an additional 31,401 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant's stock worth $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant's stock worth $32,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $2.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $444.06. The stock had a trading volume of 15,539,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,490,811. The stock's 50 day moving average is $431.05 and its 200 day moving average is $425.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.64, a PEG 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $509.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $512.66.

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.