Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Boosted by Fortune Financial Advisors LLC

Fortune Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,671 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.4% of Fortune Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sicart Associates LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during 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 during the period. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,866 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Triton Wealth Management PLLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 5,864 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $692,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $406.66 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $303.40 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $413.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $389.54.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of 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, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,025,258 shares of company stock worth $12,160,356. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Microsoft 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.