Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Boosted by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,522,943 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 98,448 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.2% of Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,484,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,243 shares of company stock valued at $48,619,618. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $512.63.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded down $5.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $452.57. The company had a trading volume of 19,196,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,549,924. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $398.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $413.04. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

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.