Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,074 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.8% of Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Oppenheimer raised Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $527.31.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock traded up $6.89 on Wednesday, reaching $503.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,633,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,667,813. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $506.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $465.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $424.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Microsoft Company 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.