Synergy Asset Management LLC Has $111.64 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 115.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 263,271 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 140,836 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 8.6% of Synergy Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $111,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $32,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,314,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 389.2% in the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,137,000 after purchasing an additional 42,778 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1 %

MSFT opened at $391.26 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $376.91 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $408.82 and a 200-day moving average of $419.67.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.