Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Signet Financial Management LLC's 7th Largest Position

Signet Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,470 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.6% of Signet Financial Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Signet Financial Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.9 %

Microsoft stock traded down $7.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $408.25. The stock had a trading volume of 27,440,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,130,024. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $425.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $422.69. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company's 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.