New World Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

New World Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 61.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,423 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,961 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.9% of New World Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. New World Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fosun International Ltd lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $527.75 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $492.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $436.40. The company has a market cap of $3.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The business's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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