Global Assets Advisory LLC Buys 13,937 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Global Assets Advisory LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 274.7% in Q1, holding shares worth $7.14 million, making it their 17th largest holding.
• Microsoft's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analyst expectations, reporting $3.65 EPS and $76.44 billion in revenue, resulting in an 18.1% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.6%, with a payout ratio of 24.34%.

Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 274.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,011 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 13,937 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.3% of Global Assets Advisory LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Global Assets Advisory LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 6.2% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 1,079 shares of the software giant's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.9% during the first quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 56,680 shares of the software giant's stock worth $21,277,000 after purchasing an additional 8,199 shares in the last quarter. TABR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. TABR Capital Management LLC now owns 791 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Advisors MI grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 35,679 shares of the software giant's stock worth $13,394,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $7.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $527.75. 19,134,645 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,349,202. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $491.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $435.76.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp raised Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

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.