Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC decreased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,796 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.3% of Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in 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 during the period. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.59.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $391.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50-day moving average is $408.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $419.67. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $376.91 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

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.