Wealth Alliance Has $17.02 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wealth Alliance decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,372 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,415 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.0% of Wealth Alliance’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunpointe LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 15,170 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,394,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. LMG Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,209 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,419,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2,033.8% during the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 20,911 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,814,000 after purchasing an additional 19,931 shares during the period. Corps Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $5,214,000. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 180,367 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,025,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.1 %

MSFT opened at $374.58 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $385.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $411.70. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 price target (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 7th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Westpark Capital started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.80.

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.