Wealth Science Advisors LLC Takes $1.21 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Wealth Science Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,491 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000. Microsoft accounts for 0.7% of Wealth Science Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $259,539,471,000 after buying an additional 7,314,509 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,823,341,000 after buying an additional 3,166,275 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,714,256,000 after buying an additional 3,532,054 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.88.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $417.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $398.60 and a 200-day moving average of $439.04. 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 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure cloud business is still growing strongly, with recent commentary pointing to about 40% growth, reinforcing the company’s AI and cloud leadership thesis. 9 Best Cloud Stocks to Buy as Azure Growth Hits 40%
• Positive Sentiment: The jury defeat for Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI removed a legal overhang around Microsoft’s AI partner ecosystem and was viewed as a bullish development for MSFT’s broader AI strategy. Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late
• Positive Sentiment: New product news around Surface devices for business and AI workloads suggests Microsoft is still pushing enterprise hardware and AI adoption across its ecosystem. Microsoft launches Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 with Intel chips
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also unveiled enterprise Surface models powered by Intel Core Ultra chips, which is a product refresh but not likely a major near-term stock catalyst on its own. Microsoft (MSFT) Unveils Enterprise Surface Lineup Powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 3
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn said it will lay off more than 600 employees, a cost-cutting move that may help margins but also signals restructuring inside Microsoft’s professional networking unit. Panic in California as LinkedIn announces hundreds of layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are focusing on concerns about mixed Xbox messaging, which may be weighing on sentiment around Microsoft’s gaming segment. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Slips on Mixed Xbox Messaging
• Negative Sentiment: Another report highlighted a Windows drivers issue that could hurt battery life on Windows 11 laptops, adding a small but negative product-quality overhang. “Blind Spot” in Windows Drivers Leads to Sub-Par Battery Life, Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Slips
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by EVP Amy Coleman, while modest, can also dampen sentiment when the stock is already under pressure. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) EVP Amy Coleman Sells 1,262 Shares

Microsoft Profile

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).