Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Lifted by CSM Advisors LLC

CSM Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,091 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,480 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 1.3% of CSM Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $43,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 155.7% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 29.9% in the second 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 last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $480.84 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $507.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $500.78. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. HSBC increased their price objective on Microsoft from $643.00 to $648.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Microsoft from $640.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.