Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 146,633 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 10,370 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.0% of Sowell Financial Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $55,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $87,000. Cordant Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 647.8% during the 4th quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Family CFO Inc increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 13.6% in the third quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $146,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.61.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related 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 shares were 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 owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’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 transaction 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $406.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $295.25 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $414.48 and a 200-day moving average of $388.51.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.87% and a net margin of 36.43%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

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.