24,345 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Acquired by Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 24,345 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $7,019,000. Microsoft accounts for about 7.3% of Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Gleason Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 111.7% during the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 199 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its position in Microsoft by 157.0% in the first quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Microsoft from $350.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.68.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $332.88 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $213.43 and a one year high of $366.78. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $332.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $309.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

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.