Golden State Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Golden State Wealth Management LLC has increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 128.4%, holding a total of approximately 49,804 shares valued at about $18.7 million.
• Several large investors, including Vanguard Group and Northern Trust Corp, have also increased their positions in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, contributing to a total of 71.13% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Microsoft recently reported quarterly earnings of $3.65 EPS, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a revenue increase of 18.1% year-over-year.

Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 128.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,804 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 27,998 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.4% of Golden State Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Golden State Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,720,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103,212 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock worth $25,273,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,370,546 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.5%

MSFT opened at $527.75 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $3.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.69, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $492.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $436.40.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 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 business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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