Kovack Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 61,000 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,441 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.5% of Kovack Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position 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. Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $435.28 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price of $384.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $411.07. The company has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.77.

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.