Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Increased by Augustine Asset Management Inc.

Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,579 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 6,389 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 7.7% of Augustine Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Augustine Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth 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. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.86.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of MSFT traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $387.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,355,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,173,490. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year 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 $2.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $391.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $414.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued 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 0.86%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

About Microsoft

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.