Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,346 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 6.1% of Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 94,243 shares of company stock valued at $41,288,738 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $1.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $454.27. The company had a trading volume of 23,797,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,563,395. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $395.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $412.48.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

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.