Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 459,397 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 8,373 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.3% of Hartford Investment Management Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $193,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 90,230 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $38,032,000 after purchasing an additional 6,030 shares during the period. Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,605 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,470,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 515,075 shares of the software giant's stock worth $217,104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 71,733 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $30,236,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,227 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,046,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Microsoft Price Performance
MSFT stock traded down $0.64 during trading on Monday, reaching $387.81. 19,232,192 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,242,474. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. 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 company has a market cap of $2.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $391.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $414.41.
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 for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.86.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
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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