Myriad Asset Management US LP Buys New Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Myriad Asset Management US LP purchased a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 19,477 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $8,210,000. Microsoft comprises 5.5% of Myriad Asset Management US LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Scotiabank began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price target (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $499.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded down $3.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $367.78. The company had a trading volume of 20,940,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,277,339. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $413.21.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

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.