5,450 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Acquired by Apex Wealth Management LLC

Apex Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,450 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,297,000. Microsoft accounts for 2.0% of Apex Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.0%

MSFT stock traded up $4.75 on Monday, reaching $479.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,159,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,468,348. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.64, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $428.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $418.55. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $480.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft 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.