Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Increased by Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 124,243 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 914 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.7% of Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $52,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.86.

Remove Ads

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $6.80 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $382.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,430,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,577,346. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $367.24 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $404.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $418.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business earned $2.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Microsoft's payout ratio 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.