Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC has increased its Microsoft holdings by 3.3%, now owning 17,087 shares worth about $6.41 million, making it the firm's 6th largest position.
• Significant institutional investment in Microsoft includes a new position from Norges Bank worth approximately $44.34 billion, and GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its holdings by over 40,290% this quarter.
• Microsoft reported a 3.9% stock increase and exceeded earnings expectations with a net margin of 36.15% and quarterly revenue of $76.44 billion.

Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,087 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 545 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.4% of Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the 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 directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $9.39 on Friday, reaching $524.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 28,948,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,331,950. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $489.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $434.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The firm's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

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.