10,331 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Purchased by Avantra Family Wealth Inc.

Avantra Family Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,331 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $4,355,000. Microsoft accounts for about 4.1% of Avantra Family Wealth Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.59.

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Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock traded down $11.78 on Friday, reaching $378.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,606,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,523,498. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $405.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $419.06. 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 capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $376.91 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.