Avantra Family Wealth Inc. Makes New Investment in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Avantra Family Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 10,331 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $4,355,000. Microsoft comprises about 4.1% of Avantra Family Wealth Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BCK Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,380,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,941,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2 %

MSFT stock opened at $390.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $406.52 and a 200-day moving average of $419.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $376.91 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.59.

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.