Talbot Financial LLC Has $87.61 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Talbot Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,854 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,214 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 10.4% of Talbot Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Talbot Financial LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $87,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total transaction of $1,077,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 53,852 shares in the company, valued at $23,203,211.24. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.4 %

MSFT traded down $5.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $410.36. The stock had a trading volume of 13,673,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,098,506. The stock's 50 day moving average is $425.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $422.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued 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 0.81%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given 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 $510.96.

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.