Astra Wealth Partners LLC Purchases New Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Astra Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,052 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,286,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.2% of Astra Wealth Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $3.91 on Friday, hitting $474.96. The company had a trading volume of 16,787,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,485,134. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $425.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $418.26. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $480.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.68.

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.