Sound Income Strategies LLC Buys 2,190 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,071 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sicart Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price target (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Macquarie boosted their price target on Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $459.28 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $425.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $410.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $459.59. The company has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.