Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Naviter Wealth LLC

Naviter Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 25.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,206 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,442 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 2.8% of Naviter Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in Microsoft by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $453.55 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $435.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $416.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.27, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.86.

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.