Abacus Planning Group Inc. Has $6.61 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,567 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.4% of Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,359,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 82,267 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,976,000 after acquiring an additional 3,209 shares in the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 18.0% during the third quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 298,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $94,159,000 after acquiring an additional 45,560 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.2% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,497,000 after acquiring an additional 5,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,967,000 after acquiring an additional 6,484 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $413.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $275.37 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $415.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $383.26.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.52.

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.