Welch Group LLC Has $85.23 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Welch Group LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 202,580 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 16,276 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.2% of Welch Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $85,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 160.7% during the fourth quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $449.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $419.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $407.17. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $450.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.