Absolute Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,531 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Absolute Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 41.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,246 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.2% of Absolute Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Absolute Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,385,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, 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 sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $458.68. 13,971,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,560,565. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business's fifty day moving average is $406.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $414.59. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

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. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price target on shares of Microsoft and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

About Microsoft

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.