KPP Advisory Services LLC Raises Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,513 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 2.7% of KPP Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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. 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.0 %

MSFT opened at $378.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $405.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $418.97. 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 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 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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