Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Acquires 451 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,694 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 451 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.6% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $425.40 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $384.18 and a 200-day moving average of $411.01. The company has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a P/E/G 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.77.

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.