Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Raised by LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA

LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,975 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.6% of LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $458.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $396.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $412.71. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was 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 $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 position. 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.30.

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.