Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC Has $1.74 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 37.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,038 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.1% of Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 112,158.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,017,948,000 after buying an additional 150,053,637 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 35,465.9% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $66,852,000 after purchasing an additional 20,553,188 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Microsoft by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,638,815,000 after acquiring an additional 14,652,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 98.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,218,570 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,649,717,000 after acquiring an additional 7,534,774 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $332.88 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $332.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $309.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $213.43 and a one year high of $366.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $350.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Microsoft from $340.00 to $380.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and issued a $232.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.68.

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.