Wealth Management Strategies Inc. Invests $1.06 Million in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wealth Management Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,514 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,000. Microsoft accounts for 0.8% of Wealth Management Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

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

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $480.24 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $436.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $420.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $481.00.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $565.00 target price (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.68.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.