Concentric Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Concentric Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,013 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.2% of Concentric Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Concentric Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 11,951 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,445,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Kalos Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter worth $159,000. Quilter Plc boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 844,299 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $202,480,000 after acquiring an additional 11,563 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 117.2% in the 1st quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 85,364 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $24,250,000 after acquiring an additional 46,056 shares during the period. Finally, SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 200,299 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $48,036,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $332.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $332.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $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. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $213.43 and a 1 year high of $366.78.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Argus raised their price objective on Microsoft from $371.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Microsoft from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Microsoft from $350.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Friday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.68.

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.