Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC

Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,745 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 9.8% of Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $66,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $4.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $437.62. The company had a trading volume of 6,183,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,180,709. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $387.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $411.42. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $507.77.

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.