Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Americana Partners LLC's Largest Position

Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 284.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 416,782 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 308,429 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 7.2% of Americana Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $175,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $11.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $377.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,482,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,177,769. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $386.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $411.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $430.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $497.63.

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.