Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,511 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.7% of Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $8,103,000. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 24,765 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,439,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 90,230 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $38,032,000 after buying an additional 6,030 shares during the last quarter. Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,605 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,470,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 515,075 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $217,104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,888 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $388.45 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $391.89 and a 200-day moving average of $414.53. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Westpark Capital initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $505.41.

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.