Synergy Investment Management LLC Takes $764,000 Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,812 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $764,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th 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. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $438.73. 15,313,766 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,422,206. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $411.74. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James increased their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $507.77.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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

About Microsoft

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.