Maripau Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Maripau Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,595 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,937,000. Microsoft comprises 1.1% of Maripau Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $433.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $386.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $411.27.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.77.

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.