CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Buys 5,000 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 100.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,000 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during 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. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $378.77 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $376.91 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $413.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $420.77.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid 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 0.88%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.43.

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.