Leslie Global Wealth LLC Raises Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Leslie Global Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 13.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,791 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 0.6% of Leslie Global Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Leslie Global Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.0% during the second quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,073 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 19.3% during the second quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 939 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. FCG Investment Co lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 25,570 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,428,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 253,594 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,780 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $422.37 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $428.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $427.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $369.01 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.62.

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.