Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. Purchases 1,087 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,885 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.2% of Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $508.86.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $359.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $399.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $417.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $359.48 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

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, 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 last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 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.