Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 74,751 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 159.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,617 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,751 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.1% of Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $54,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prossimo Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,100,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 98.4% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% during the second quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,591 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,840,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Bay Rivers Group lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bay Rivers Group now owns 14,634 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 53,493 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $435.27 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $420.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $424.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.69, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.97%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. New Street Research initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.