Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Beacon Wealthcare LLC

Beacon Wealthcare LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 20.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,416 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 0.3% of Beacon Wealthcare LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Beacon Wealthcare LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in Microsoft by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $446.95 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $456.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $424.11 and a 200-day moving average of $409.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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. 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 related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price target (up previously from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $467.12.

Microsoft Company 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.