Montis Financial LLC Grows Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Montis Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,647 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 1.1% of Montis Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Montis Financial LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $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 worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $2.29 on Thursday, reaching $454.86. 17,993,059 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,550,171. 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 capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $399.71 and a 200-day moving average of $413.31. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The company 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price target (up previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

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.