802 Shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Acquired by Investment Planning Advisors Inc.

Investment Planning Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 802 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price target (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. TD Securities upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $524.11 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $489.94 and its 200-day moving average is $434.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

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.

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