Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,430 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 507 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.7% of Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 7,617 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,211,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC now owns 8,651 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,646,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 52,352 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $22,066,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $802,000. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 6,318 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,663,000 after buying an additional 1,352 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $393.08 on Tuesday. 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 $376.91 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $408.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $419.63.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors 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 yield of 0.84%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.59.

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.