Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s 3rd Largest Position

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 286,446 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,389 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.2% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $120,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft 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 now directly owns 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $10.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $460.69. 20,932,633 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,585,267. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $403.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $414.03. The company has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.13.

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.