Claro Advisors LLC Acquires 1,163 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,030 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.9% of Claro Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 19.9% during the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 14,342 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,422,000 after buying an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 20.8% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,138,469 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $351,001,000 after buying an additional 196,338 shares during the last quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the first quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,919,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.2% during the first quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.2% during the first quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $404.27 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $275.37 and a twelve month high of $430.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $415.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $384.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $432.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.