Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC Acquires 747 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 14.6% during the first quarter, holding 5,850 shares valued at approximately $2.20 million, making it the firm's 13th largest position.
• Several analysts have given Microsoft high ratings, with price targets ranging from $550.00 to $600.00, signaling strong market confidence, as the stock currently holds a "Moderate Buy" rating.
• Microsoft has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with an upcoming ex-dividend date on August 21st, representing an annualized yield of 0.65%.

Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,850 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 747 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.4% of Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $21.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $534.89. 22,422,721 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,175,734. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $486.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $433.33. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $582.00 target price (up previously from $530.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $598.61.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company 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.