12,033 Shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Bought by McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.

McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,033 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $4,517,000. Microsoft comprises about 3.4% of McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America cut their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $521.14.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $5.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $492.05. 19,918,903 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,650,352. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $452.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $422.09. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $500.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.