Marion Wealth Management Acquires 995 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Marion Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,657 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.8% of Marion Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Marion Wealth Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Sicart Associates LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $445.70 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $419.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.37. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $450.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.59, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $465.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently 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.