Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Levy Wealth Management Group LLC

Levy Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,924 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.3% of Levy Wealth Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Levy Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,162,263,000 after buying an additional 5,762,902 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,987,007 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,152,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,190 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,375,375 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,749,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796,956 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 10,671,615 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,369,562,000 after purchasing an additional 88,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,620,705 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,353,488,000 after purchasing an additional 207,591 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $407.57 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $414.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $386.93. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $275.37 and a 1-year high of $430.82. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Macquarie upped their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $434.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. 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 three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.