Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Welch Group LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Welch Group LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,897 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.4% of Welch Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $77,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4%

MSFT opened at $492.27 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $444.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $421.40. The company has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $494.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $519.43.

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.

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