Avid Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 34.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,999 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Avid Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.79.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Microsoft stock opened at $510.05 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $477.78 and its 200-day moving average is $428.61. The company has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $514.64.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released 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 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 the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Company 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.
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