Synergy Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 115.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 263,271 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 140,836 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 8.6% of Synergy Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Synergy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $111,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in 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 during the period. Avondale Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock traded down $5.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $389.97. 15,914,431 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,304,498. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $407.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $419.53. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $376.91 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

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.