Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lifted by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,831 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,536 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.0% of Valley National Advisers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fosun International Ltd increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $520.58 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $500.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $439.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

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.