Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Purchases 3,290 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 33.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,024 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,290 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.7% of Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4%

MSFT opened at $522.48 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $501.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $440.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 presently 24.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

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.

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