Strategic Financial Services Inc. Purchases 1,268 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Strategic Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,426 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.4% of Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 483 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Next Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 4,126 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $572,000. Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $1,166,000. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 523,850 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $220,803,000 after buying an additional 16,172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0%

MSFT opened at $450.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $403.62 and a 200-day moving average of $414.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $513.13.

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.