Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Increased by Absher Wealth Management LLC

Absher Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,813 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.9% of Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised 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 during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $382.14 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $402.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $418.11. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $367.24 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. 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 company has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Four 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.86.

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.