Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lifted by Edge Capital Group LLC

Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,803 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 4,014 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.9% of Edge Capital Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Edge Capital Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $35,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,790,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock worth $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $20,322,513,000 after purchasing an additional 652,493 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after buying an additional 406,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 27,904,450 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,007,285,000 after buying an additional 636,713 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock traded up $30.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $425.40. 58,840,495 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,314,175. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $383.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $410.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $507.77.

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.