Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Raised by Cook Wealth Management Group LLC

Cook Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 46.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,624 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,434 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.9% of Cook Wealth Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Cook Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. now owns 9,891 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 3,402 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 194,714 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $73,220,000 after acquiring an additional 32,854 shares during the last quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 177.0% during the fourth quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 33,358 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $12,544,000 after purchasing an additional 21,317 shares during the period. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,816,000. Finally, MBE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,646 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3 %

Microsoft stock opened at $410.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $413.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $392.05. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $306.26 and a 12 month high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of 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. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.