Emerald Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Emerald Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,685 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 0.8% of Emerald Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Emerald Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $87,000. Family CFO Inc raised its stake in Microsoft by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Cordant Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 647.8% during the 4th quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $399.04 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $292.73 and a one year high of $430.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $414.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $387.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.08, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. BNP Paribas raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Raymond James increased their price objective on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie increased their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $434.05.

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.