Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Portside Wealth Group LLC

Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,787 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,056 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.7% of Portside Wealth Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Portside Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 45,074 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Wiser Wealth Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.4% in the first quarter. Wiser Wealth Management Inc now owns 3,190 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 18,825 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,067,000 after acquiring an additional 2,531 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.9% in the first quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,635 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 38,000 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $2.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $501.48. 16,466,043 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,666,022. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $506.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $467.76 and its 200-day moving average is $424.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.14.

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.