Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Boosted by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,296 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.54.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $383.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $376.91 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $413.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $421.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.