Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Has $14.15 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,565 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,412 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.2% of Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th 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 position 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 purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel grew its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $513.13.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $458.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.94, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $409.00 and a 200 day moving average of $415.04. 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.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

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.