Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Has $37.70 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,430 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 507 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 5.7% of Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 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 grew 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 increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $393.08 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $408.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $419.63. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.59.

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.