Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Stiles Financial Services Inc

Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,510 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 2.5% of Stiles Financial Services Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Family CFO Inc increased its stake in Microsoft by 13.6% in the third quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 647.8% during the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $406.66 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $413.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $390.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $303.40 and a twelve month high of $430.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,025,258 shares of company stock valued at $12,160,356. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BNP Paribas raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $452.61.

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.