Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,796 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.3% of Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in 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 during the period. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $391.26 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $376.91 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $408.82 and a 200 day moving average of $419.67. 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 $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. 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.