Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Has $6.18 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,655 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 1.4% of Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BCK Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 6,986 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,108,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,997 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,290,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Sequent Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.3% during the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 53,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,203,211.24. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,493,820. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $408.25 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $425.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $423.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 currently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.