EQ Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $1.82 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,325 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,823,000. Microsoft accounts for about 1.6% of EQ Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management lifted 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 last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $508.86.

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Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $3.41 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $375.39. The stock had a trading volume of 35,114,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,581,628. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $367.31 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50-day moving average is $405.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $419.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. 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.