13,709 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Bought by Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC

Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 13,709 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $5,778,000. Microsoft accounts for about 1.7% of Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $404.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $424.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $423.08. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

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.