Parker Financial LLC Raises Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Parker Financial LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,293 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.7% of Parker Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Parker Financial LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $520.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.80.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $374.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $385.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $411.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued 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 yield of 0.89%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

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.