Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,910 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 2,014 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.8% of Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th 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 boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of MSFT traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $458.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,758,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,610,607. The company has a 50 day moving average of $407.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $414.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.