Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by PFG Investments LLC

PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,785 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,037 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.3% of PFG Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $53,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BCK Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,997 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% during the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.43.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $388.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $411.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $420.49. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $376.91 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period last 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 issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

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.