12,779 Shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Acquired by Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC

Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 12,779 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $5,220,000. Microsoft accounts for 1.9% of Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.68.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $480.24 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $481.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $436.07 and a 200 day moving average of $420.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.