Cook Wealth LLC Has $5.62 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cook Wealth LLC lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,578 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 33 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.6% of Cook Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Cook Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $378.80 on Friday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $405.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $418.97. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $376.91 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.