Strategic Advocates LLC Has $2.66 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Strategic Advocates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,318 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 0.9% of Strategic Advocates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Strategic Advocates LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% in the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $32,830,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,314,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 389.2% in the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $23,137,000 after purchasing an additional 42,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

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Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock traded up $2.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $395.16. 15,761,260 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,335,764. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $376.91 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. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $408.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $419.63. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Company 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.