Markel Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 519,480 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.9% of Markel Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $218,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,890,530,000 after buying an additional 49,288 shares during the period. Finally, Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.4% during the third quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,749 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,334,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $454.27 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $395.33 and its 200 day moving average is $412.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.