Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 16,606 Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 16,606 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $6,986,000. Microsoft makes up 6.3% of Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners raised its position in Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant's stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sicart Associates LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant's stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the software giant's stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Microsoft stock traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $445.70. The stock had a trading volume of 19,862,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,928,426. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $450.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $419.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $406.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup lowered their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $465.83.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.