Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Access Financial Services Inc.

Access Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,976 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.7% of Access Financial Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Access Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 152,144 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,113,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Solution LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Solution LLC now owns 28,096 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,861 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. RHS Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 55.3% during the 1st quarter. RHS Financial LLC now owns 4,073 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tuttle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the software giant's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $7.16 on Friday, reaching $498.25. The stock had a trading volume of 13,984,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,715,135. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $500.76. The business's 50-day moving average price is $461.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $423.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders 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 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $524.71.

Microsoft 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.