Wiser Advisor Group LLC Increases Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wiser Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,953 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.4% of Wiser Advisor Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Wiser Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the third quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,941,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $433.31 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $386.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $411.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

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.