Wedmont Private Capital Buys 3,902 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,247 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,902 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.5% of Wedmont Private Capital’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $34,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $87,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $465.00 price target (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $449.78 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $450.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $419.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $407.44.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

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.