Better Money Decisions LLC Acquires 110 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Better Money Decisions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,446 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 0.8% of Better Money Decisions LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Better Money Decisions LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,103 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,453,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Stewardship Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Constant Guidance Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $633,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 701,305 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $221,437,000 after purchasing an additional 48,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004,612 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $317,206,000 after purchasing an additional 68,848 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $407.57 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $275.37 and a 52-week high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $414.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $386.93. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.12%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Microsoft from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $434.05.

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.