Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Increases Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,896 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.6% of Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 112,158.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,017,948,000 after acquiring an additional 150,053,637 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 35,465.9% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $66,852,000 after buying an additional 20,553,188 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 29,789.2% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,570,893 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,477,000 after buying an additional 16,515,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,638,815,000 after buying an additional 14,652,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Redburn Partners lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.11.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $369.85 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $219.35 and a 52-week high of $376.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $336.17 and a 200-day moving average of $331.59.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the company’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 directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.