Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Boosted by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 14.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 275,343 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 35,785 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.1% of Gradient Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $103,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $1,375,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $495.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $499.30. The company's 50-day moving average price is $449.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $421.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. 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, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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