Axim Planning & Wealth Raises Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Axim Planning & Wealth increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,769 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.0% of Axim Planning & Wealth’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Axim Planning & Wealth’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $9,625,201,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised 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 buying an additional 2,456,190 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $679,928,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings 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 valued at $6,749,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,796,956 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $397.84 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $413.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $389.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $303.40 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,025,258 shares of company stock worth $12,160,356 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $465.00 target price (up previously from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.61.

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.