Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,505 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 613 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.1% of W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $385.73 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $390.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $413.81. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $502.83.

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.