Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Callahan Advisors LLC

Callahan Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 123,014 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 6,953 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.9% of Callahan Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Callahan Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $51,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Schubert & Co lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Schubert & Co now owns 1,615 shares of the software giant's stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its stake in Microsoft by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 269,019 shares of the software giant's stock worth $113,392,000 after purchasing an additional 48,946 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 9,102 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,837,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 3,893 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 28,676 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,088,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $430.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $493.13.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $387.14. The stock had a trading volume of 4,241,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,222,840. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $385.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $411.53. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 last year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. 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.