Aspire Private Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Aspire Private Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 33.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,143 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 3,263 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.2% of Aspire Private Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Aspire Private Capital LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $9.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $524.03. 13,043,612 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,325,803. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $488.46 and a 200 day moving average of $434.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 33.49%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

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.