Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Raised by Guardian Asset Advisors LLC

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,338 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 3.6% of Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th 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. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $387.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $391.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $414.11. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.86.

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.