Gagnon Securities LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Gagnon Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 680 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $395.16 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $407.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $419.53. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $376.91 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.