Axis Wealth Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Axis Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,064 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $870,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Coalescence Partners Investment Management LP increased its position in Microsoft by 70.1% in the fourth quarter. Coalescence Partners Investment Management LP now owns 74,155 shares of the software giant's stock worth $31,256,000 after purchasing an additional 30,571 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 30,878 shares of the software giant's stock worth $13,015,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Jordan Park Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $481,000. Barings LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Barings LLC now owns 12,846 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,415,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Finally, Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $27,620,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $453.13. The company had a trading volume of 21,913,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,510,806. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm's 50 day moving average is $392.40 and its 200-day moving average is $412.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $509.16.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is 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.