Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 38.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 89,206 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,584 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 1.2% of Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,255,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,359,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,238,000 after acquiring an additional 18,200 shares during the period. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $460.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $461.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $426.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $411.42.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price objective (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

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.