Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lifted by Bouvel Investment Partners LLC

Bouvel Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,803 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.0% of Bouvel Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Seaside Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Seaside Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,157 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 13,009 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,483,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,854,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 14,311 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,032,000 after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,063 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $392.53 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $421.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $422.79. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.32, for a total transaction of $874,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 51,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,675,916.64. The trade was a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 7,000 shares of company stock worth $3,070,340 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

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.