Premier Fund Managers Ltd Acquires 1,523 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,248 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $27,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel grew its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $3.81 on Thursday, hitting $467.68. 20,083,146 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,471,692. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $469.58. The business's fifty day moving average is $413.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $415.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business 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 was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.13.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total transaction of $460,010.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.