Hilltop Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hilltop Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,552 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.2% of Hilltop Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Hilltop Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth 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. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $507.77.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $436.17. 20,112,843 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,367,112. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $384.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $411.03. 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 $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.12, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

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.