Independent Advisor Alliance Acquires 25,572 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 326,011 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,572 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.8% of Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $137,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

Microsoft stock opened at $454.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $395.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $412.61.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.16.

Microsoft Company 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.