Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Purchases 549,035 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9,767.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 554,656 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 549,035 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.7% of Aurora Private Wealth Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Aurora Private Wealth Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $208,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% in 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 period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $7.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $527.75. 19,134,645 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,349,202. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $491.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $435.76. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. The business's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

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.