Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 93,141 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.9% of Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $388.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $391.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $414.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Westpark Capital began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.41.

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.