Red Crane Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Red Crane Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,415 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $596,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased 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 buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $435.28 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $384.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $411.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six research 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.77.

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.