Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 434,167 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,202 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 4.6% of Country Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $183,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $393.08 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $408.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $419.63. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $376.91 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued 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 Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.59.

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.