Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Simmons Bank’s 4th Largest Position

Simmons Bank decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,160 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,670 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.1% of Simmons Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $41,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.77.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $435.28 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $384.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $411.12. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

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.