Wealth Management Strategies Inc. Takes Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wealth Management Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,514 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,060,000. Microsoft comprises about 0.8% of Wealth Management Strategies Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $765,000. Amiral Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,243,000. Michels Family Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $991,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,638,000. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,890,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $8.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $486.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,799,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,528,626. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $489.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business's 50-day moving average price is $437.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $420.28. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued 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 0.68%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.68.

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.