Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Increased by Powers Advisory Group LLC

Powers Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,256 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.5% of Powers Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Powers Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 51,863 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,794 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 55,674 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $20,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 70,877 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $26,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,793 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 48,952 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,376,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective 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. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price target on shares of Microsoft and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $538.04.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $505.62 on Thursday. 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 $508.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $474.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. 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. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 476,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.