Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Boosted by Innovative Wealth Building LLC

Innovative Wealth Building LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,454 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 0.8% of Innovative Wealth Building LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Innovative Wealth Building LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $529.24 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $499.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $439.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.80, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

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.