Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Canal Insurance CO’s Largest Position

Canal Insurance CO decreased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,500 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 6.5% of Canal Insurance CO’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Canal Insurance CO’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sicart Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,866 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,434,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Kaizen Financial Strategies grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 7,807 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,936,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Microsoft from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James upped their price target on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $434.05.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $407.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $275.37 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $414.60 and its 200-day moving average is $386.93.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.