Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Stokes Family Office LLC

Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,590 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,118 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.5% of Stokes Family Office LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Stokes Family Office LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $10.51 on Tuesday, reaching $460.69. 20,932,633 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,585,267. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $403.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $414.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% 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 valued at $58,375,673 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.