Independent Advisor Alliance Has $137.41 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,011 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 25,572 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.8% of Independent Advisor Alliance's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Microsoft were worth $137,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $1.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $454.27. The stock had a trading volume of 23,797,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,563,395. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $395.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $412.48.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. 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, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $510.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Microsoft

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.