Stolper Co Has $6.86 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Stolper Co reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,297 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,406 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.5% of Stolper Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Stolper Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $87,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $449.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $419.96 and its 200 day moving average is $407.17. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $450.94.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $467.12.

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.