Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Increased by Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,324 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,878 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.6% of Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $67,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock worth $113,399,000 after acquiring an additional 18,544 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant's stock worth $41,318,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $509.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $512.93.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $0.53 on Tuesday, hitting $428.50. 25,848,817 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,069,188. The company's fifty day moving average is $429.54 and its 200 day moving average is $425.92. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.35, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.90. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 0.77%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.