Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Raised by Occidental Asset Management LLC

Occidental Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,946 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.0% of Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $332.88 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $332.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $309.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $213.43 and a 1 year high of $366.78. The stock has a market cap 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $56.19 billion for 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%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders 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 currently 28.07%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,301,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Microsoft from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Redburn Partners dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 11th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $425.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.68.

Microsoft 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.