Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 185,126 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,146 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.8% of Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $78,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,645,000. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,515,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $113,399,000 after buying an additional 18,544 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant's stock worth $32,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,314,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Shares of MSFT stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $382.14. 15,927,448 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,588,437. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $367.24 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $403.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $418.45. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.
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 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 last year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business 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 0.87%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $508.86.
Read Our Latest Research Report on MSFT
About Microsoft
(
Free Report)
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.
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