Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lifted by Segment Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation by 3.5%, owning a total of 71,322 shares valued at approximately $26.77 million.
• Microsoft's stock price recently declined by 0.2% to $512.50, while its market capitalization stands at $3.81 trillion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with a 0.65% yield and a payout ratio of 25.66%.

Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,322 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.8% of Segment Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Segment Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fosun International Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were 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 owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wedbush boosted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp raised shares of Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $675.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $598.61.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $21.65 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $534.89. 22,422,721 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,175,734. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $486.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $433.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Microsoft's payout ratio 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.