Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lowered by Ballast Inc.

Ballast Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,808 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.9% of Ballast Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 322.7% during the 2nd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 62,879 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,103,000 after purchasing an additional 48,005 shares in the last quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 12.1% during the second quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 3,004 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frisch Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,189 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $388.49 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $419.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $422.59. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $385.58 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.32, for a total transaction of $874,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 51,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,675,916.64. This trade represents a 3.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

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.