Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Buys 30,833 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 242,458 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 30,833 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 1.3% of Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $116,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $379.40 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $412.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $425.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $502.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $561.20.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly building a more than $1 billion annual AI and cloud business with ByteDance in China, underscoring strong demand for its Azure and OpenAI-related services. Microsoft Scores Massive China AI Win as TikTok Parent Eyes $1 Billion Spend
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI’s push to monetize ChatGPT with ads highlights continued AI commercialization, which may support sentiment around Microsoft’s OpenAI stake and AI strategy. OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Ads to Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is said to be moving Copilot to usage-based pricing and exploring cheaper AI models, a sign it is trying to improve margins as AI infrastructure costs rise. Microsoft (MSFT) Moves Copilot To Usage Based Pricing As AI Costs Rise
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say investors are increasingly worried about Microsoft’s AI valuation, spending, and monetization, which is weighing on the stock. Microsoft Faces AI Expectations Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing securities class-action lawsuits and investigations over alleged misleading AI-related statements, adding legal uncertainty. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential $3 billion Oracle cloud deal suggest possible friction in securing additional cloud capacity. Why Microsoft Stock Slumped Today

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).