Abundance Wealth Counselors Boosts Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Abundance Wealth Counselors increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.9%, now owning 21,958 shares worth approximately $8.3 million.
• Microsoft reported a quarterly revenue of $70.07 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a net margin of 35.79% and an EPS of $3.46.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, which equates to an annualized yield of 0.65% based on a payout ratio of 25.66%.

Abundance Wealth Counselors grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,958 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 822 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.7% of Abundance Wealth Counselors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Abundance Wealth Counselors' holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.86.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.67 on Wednesday, hitting $513.24. The stock had a trading volume of 25,399,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,947,285. The business's fifty day moving average price is $486.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $433.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $518.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

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.