abrdn plc Raises Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

abrdn plc boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,652,131 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 748,649 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 6.1% of abrdn plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. abrdn plc owned 0.10% of Microsoft worth $3,238,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.86.

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Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $9.03 on Thursday, reaching $373.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 30,133,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,642,636. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $400.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $417.80. 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 market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $367.24 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm posted $2.93 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

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.