Udine Wealth Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Udine Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,941 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 10.0% of Udine Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Udine Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.5%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $498.25 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $500.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.50, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $461.41 and its 200 day moving average is $423.67.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price target (up previously from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $524.71.

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.