Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,014 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 6.6% of Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 54,500 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,494,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214 shares during the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 12,415 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,669,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Axim Planning & Wealth raised its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Axim Planning & Wealth now owns 2,769 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Narus Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,649 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $406.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $303.40 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $413.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $389.54.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value 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 $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,025,258 shares of company stock worth $12,160,356. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft 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.