Atala Financial Inc Buys New Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,280 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $3,912,000. Microsoft makes up 2.7% of Atala Financial Inc's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

MSFT stock opened at $458.17 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $398.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $413.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,243 shares of company stock worth $48,619,618 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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