Financial Connections Group Inc. Invests $1.32 Million in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,519 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,323,000. Microsoft makes up about 0.9% of Financial Connections Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $87,000. Family CFO Inc grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 13.6% during the third quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $146,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $406.66 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $303.40 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $413.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $390.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price target (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Macquarie raised their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

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.