Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Providence Capital Advisors LLC

Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,411 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 6,445 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.8% of Providence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Providence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,343,058,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,728,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,811,770 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,606,661,000 after buying an additional 43,033 shares during the period. LM Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. LM Advisors LLC now owns 36,704 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,471,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. raised its position in Microsoft by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. now owns 51,000 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $21,496,000 after buying an additional 17,000 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total transaction of $460,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.13.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT traded up $3.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $467.68. The company had a trading volume of 20,083,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,471,689. The business has a fifty day moving average of $413.59 and a 200-day moving average of $415.95. 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 $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $469.58.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.71%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.

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.