Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Strategic Financial Services Inc.

Strategic Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,426 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.4% of Strategic Financial Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Strategic Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 483 shares of the software giant's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Next Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 4,126 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $572,000. Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,166,000. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc grew its stake in Microsoft by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 523,850 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $220,803,000 after purchasing an additional 16,172 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Bank of America lowered their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.13.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $459.26. 1,957,818 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,508,213. The company has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $407.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $414.89.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% 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 valued at $58,375,673 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.