Cypress Wealth Services LLC Buys 1,338 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,199 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.1% of Cypress Wealth Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cypress Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Sicart Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $467.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $429.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $412.76. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

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