Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund Ltd. Under Special Management Makes New $9.27 Million Investment in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund Ltd. Under Special Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 22,000 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $9,273,000. Microsoft accounts for about 1.5% of Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund Ltd. Under Special Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.54.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $383.27 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $413.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $421.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $376.91 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current 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 issued 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 0.87%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 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.