Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. Has $36.02 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,454 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,156 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 6.2% of Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. BCK Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Sequent Asset Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $382.14 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $367.24 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $402.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $418.11. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $508.86.

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.