Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. Has $7.13 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,909 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 304 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.7% of Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth 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 period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $382.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $367.24 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $402.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $418.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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 is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $508.86.

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.