Rice Partnership LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Rice Partnership LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,118 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 6.4% of Rice Partnership LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Rice Partnership LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.0 %

Microsoft stock 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $405.52 and a 200-day moving average of $419.06. The company has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 results 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 previous year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.