Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lifted by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,243 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.8% of Verity & Verity LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $28,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $6,788,000. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 25.8% during the third quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,149 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,937,000 after buying an additional 1,876 shares during the period. Belmont Capital LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Belmont Capital LLC now owns 110,331 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,476,000 after acquiring an additional 16,384 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the third quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 60,573 shares of the software giant's stock worth $26,064,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 229,860 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $98,909,000 after buying an additional 4,911 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $548.00 to $540.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $512.66.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock traded down $2.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $444.06. 15,539,488 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,490,811. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.30 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The stock's 50-day moving average is $431.05 and its 200 day moving average is $425.54.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors 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 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

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.