Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,195 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,571 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management increased 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 valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $12.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $386.48. The company had a trading volume of 11,146,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,222,488. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $385.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $411.70.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Microsoft from $530.00 to $472.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $493.13.

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.