Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Raised by Fiduciary Alliance LLC

Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,252 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 12,270 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.3% of Fiduciary Alliance LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Fiduciary Alliance LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $42,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total transaction of $1,077,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 53,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,203,211.24. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,493,820 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $5.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $410.36. The stock had a trading volume of 13,673,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,098,506. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $425.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $422.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.96.

Microsoft 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.