Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV's 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV has increased its stock position in Microsoft by 2.1%, owning a total of 38,300 shares valued at approximately $14.38 million.
• Many institutional investors, including Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC and Mcdaniel Terry & Co., have also boosted their stakes in Microsoft in recent quarters, reflecting strong institutional interest with 71.13% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts are optimistic about Microsoft's future, with multiple firms raising their price targets, leading to a consensus price target of $551.21 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy" among research analysts.

Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,300 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 805 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.3% of Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV's holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 40,290.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $17,528,950,000 after acquiring an additional 46,579,693 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.86.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $0.67 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $513.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 25,399,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,947,285. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $486.89 and a 200-day moving average of $433.33. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $518.29.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. 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.