Atwater Malick LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Atwater Malick LLC increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,837 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.3% of Atwater Malick LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Atwater Malick LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 534.5% during the second quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $83,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $421.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $409.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $373.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $272.05 and a 1-year high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Macquarie upped their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Microsoft from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $423.34.

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.