Clarus Group Inc. Has $7.26 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Clarus Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,312 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 629 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 5.5% of Clarus Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,103 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,453,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 117,111 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,978,000 after purchasing an additional 5,641 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,806,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 11,439 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,612,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 4,218 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3 %

Microsoft stock opened at $410.54 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $306.26 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $413.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $392.05. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued 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 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.