Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Boosted by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 437.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,786 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 109,727 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.3% of New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $56,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.13.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MSFT traded up $3.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $467.68. 20,083,146 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,471,689. The firm's fifty day moving average is $413.59 and its 200-day moving average is $415.95. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $469.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

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.