Element Pointe Advisors LLC Has $2.17 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Element Pointe Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 22.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,356 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,253 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 0.5% of Element Pointe Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Element Pointe Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd 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 position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Wolfe Research set a $675.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Guggenheim set a $675.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Microsoft from $637.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.34.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0%

Microsoft stock opened at $478.53 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $504.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $502.65.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.