Aries Wealth Management Has $13.35 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Aries Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,570 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.6% of Aries Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Aries Wealth Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 1.8% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 154,742 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $58,089,000 after buying an additional 2,682 shares during the period. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,304 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,117,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,198,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Dohj LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 11.6% during the first quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 18,623 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares during the period. Finally, Tcfg Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,235 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,218,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock traded down $1.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $510.05. The stock had a trading volume of 21,120,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,618,181. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $514.64. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's fifty day moving average is $477.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $428.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group restated a "positive" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $581.00 target price (up from $512.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $541.79.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft 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 value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.