Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Decreased by Altus Wealth Group LLC

Altus Wealth Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,244 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 214 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.8% of Altus Wealth Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Altus Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in 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 period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth 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 fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $450.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. 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 Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $402.37 and its 200-day moving average is $413.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was 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 owns 471,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price target on Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $513.13.

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.