Echo Wealth Management LLC Invests $963,000 in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Echo Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,288 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $963,000. Microsoft accounts for about 0.8% of Echo Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at $2,145,000. New Perspectives Inc bought a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at $343,000. Lakewood Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 7,675 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,229,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 82,199 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $34,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 13,867 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,834,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $7.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $406.32. 29,640,094 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,152,042. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $414.48 and a 200-day moving average of $388.51. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $295.25 and a 12 month high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.87% and a net margin of 36.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Macquarie lifted their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

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.