Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance Acquires 288 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,367 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 1.3% of Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $381.35 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $392.37 and a 200-day moving average of $414.81. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.70, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. DA Davidson raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $505.41.

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.