Advisory Resource Group Boosts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Advisory Resource Group lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,407 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Advisory Resource Group’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. BCK Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the third quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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 lowered their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $508.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $359.84 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $359.48 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $399.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $417.18.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 period last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

About Microsoft

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.