Sanchez Wealth Management Group Acquires 8,082 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sanchez Wealth Management Group increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 871.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,009 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,082 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.0% of Sanchez Wealth Management Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Sanchez Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.86.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $359.84 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $359.48 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $399.08 and its 200 day moving average is $417.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. 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.