Next Level Wealth Planning LLC Acquires New Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Next Level Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,327 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $559,000. Microsoft comprises about 0.4% of Next Level Wealth Planning LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $367.78 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $389.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $413.21. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wedbush dropped their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.97.

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.