Gradient Investments LLC Buys 44,333 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,558 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 44,333 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.0% of Gradient Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $100,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Microsoft Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $378.77 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. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $376.91 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $413.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $420.77.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.43.

About Microsoft

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.