Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,565 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 3,412 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.2% of Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 131,808 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $55,557,000 after acquiring an additional 54,868 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 707,351 shares of the software giant's stock worth $298,148,000 after purchasing an additional 4,027 shares during the period. SwitchPoint Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,095,000. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 160,123 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $67,492,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374 shares during the period. Finally, Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $3,439,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $465.74. 2,121,676 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,403,889. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company's 50-day moving average is $413.59 and its 200-day moving average is $415.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.