Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Soundwatch Capital LLC’s 10th Largest Position

Soundwatch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,218 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.1% of Soundwatch Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Soundwatch Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 40,586 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $17,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Allocation Strategies LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC now owns 705 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $478.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $480.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $425.64 and its 200-day moving average is $418.26.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $513.89.

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.