Novus Advisors LLC Invests $3.91 Million in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Novus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,280 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $3,911,000. Microsoft comprises 3.9% of Novus Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.77.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $449.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $391.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $411.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 476,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently 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.