Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Increases Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,230 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 6,030 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 1.8% of Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $38,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth 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. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $387.81. 19,232,192 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,242,474. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $391.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $414.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.22, a P/E/G 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Loop Capital boosted 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. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.86.

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.