Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by LVW Advisors LLC

LVW Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,449 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,098 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.4% of LVW Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. LVW Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $120,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $495.94 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $449.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $421.93. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $499.30. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $521.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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