Strategic Advocates LLC Increases Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Strategic Advocates LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,318 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.9% of Strategic Advocates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Strategic Advocates LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the third 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 increased its position in Microsoft by 53.8% in 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 last quarter. 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $393.08 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.65, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $408.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $419.63. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $376.91 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors 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 yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

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.