Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Blossom Wealth Management

Blossom Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,412 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.5% of Blossom Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Blossom Wealth Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,103 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,453,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC now owns 9,392 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,965,000 after buying an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 23,605 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,453,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Midwest Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% during the third quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 8,908 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,813,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 6.1% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 7,560 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,387,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price objective (up previously from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price target (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.61.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $413.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.80, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $413.80 and its 200-day moving average is $391.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $306.09 and a 12 month high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 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.