LMG Wealth Partners LLC Buys 5,736 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

LMG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,100 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,736 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 3.4% of LMG Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. LMG Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 104,950 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,465,000 after purchasing an additional 5,106 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,520 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,956,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 18,673 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,022,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,364 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,794,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cordant Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 647.8% in the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.5 %

Microsoft stock opened at $400.96 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $414.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $386.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $275.37 and a 12 month high of $430.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 27.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Raymond James increased their price target on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $434.05.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.