Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lifted by Sterling Financial Planning Inc.

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,714 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 296 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in 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 stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Westpark Capital began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.80.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $374.58 on Thursday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $385.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $411.70. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

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.