ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Has $36.47 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,592 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 927 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.7% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Castle Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,088 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,041,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 103,199 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $38,807,000 after buying an additional 16,786 shares in the last quarter. MontVue Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $549,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 25,066 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,426,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. New Street Research began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $435.15 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $422.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $423.73. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.97%.

Microsoft 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.