Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by PDS Planning Inc

PDS Planning Inc raised its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,742 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.6% of PDS Planning Inc's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. PDS Planning Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 8,965 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,779,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 79.4% in the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,244 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $21,600,000 after purchasing an additional 22,682 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 20,654 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,706,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Dopkins Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Dopkins Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,518 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, RD Lewis Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,532,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $450.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The business's fifty day moving average price is $402.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $413.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

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.

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