Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $32.97 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,610 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 14,426 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.4% of Smartleaf Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Maia Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $757,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $2,531,000. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $5,349,000. Finally, PCG Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,267,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $433.35 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.89, 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $387.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $411.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $507.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft 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.

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