Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 41.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,683 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,516 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.9% of Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $55,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 147.9% during the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $478.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $480.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $432.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $419.32.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.68.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.