Challenger Wealth Management Makes New $4.67 Million Investment in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Challenger Wealth Management acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,073 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $4,667,000. Microsoft accounts for about 4.0% of Challenger Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Trust raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. American Trust now owns 41,921 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,670,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 95,104 shares of the software giant's stock worth $40,087,000 after purchasing an additional 3,952 shares in the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 8,459 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,565,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,925,000. Finally, Aurdan Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,685,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $480.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $436.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $420.16. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $481.00.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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