Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Boosted by Wiser Advisor Group LLC

Wiser Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,840 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.5% of Wiser Advisor Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Wiser Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted 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 worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% in the second quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 39,743 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,763,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.8% during the second quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 6,968 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,114,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Zimmermann Investment Management & Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the second quarter. Zimmermann Investment Management & Planning LLC now owns 8,681 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $415.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $385.58 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $432.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.81.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 34.38%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer downgraded Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

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.