Peak Financial Advisors LLC Has $3.41 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Peak Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 24.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,101 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.1% of Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related 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 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Macquarie boosted their target price on Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $446.95 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $424.11 and a 200-day moving average of $409.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $309.45 and a twelve month high of $456.17.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.