Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Accuvest Global Advisors

Accuvest Global Advisors boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 33.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,572 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,150 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.1% of Accuvest Global Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Accuvest Global Advisors’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 155.7% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 126 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.33.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $490.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $509.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $501.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 35.71%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation 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, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.89%.

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.