Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV Buys 1,036 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,742 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 0.4% of Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the third quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 7.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $30.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $425.40. 58,840,495 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,314,175. The company's fifty day moving average is $383.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $410.91. 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 $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $507.77.

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.