Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Raised by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 129,455 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 8,480 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.0% of Equitable Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $54,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth 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 period. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 price target (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four research 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, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $505.41.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $7.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $388.45. 23,826,330 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,250,515. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $391.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $414.41. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company earned $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.