Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Drive Wealth Management LLC

Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,278 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.9% of Drive Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Drive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 534.5% in the second quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $432.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $399.12 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $414.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $385.79. The company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $275.37 and a one year high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

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.