Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Dividend Assets Capital LLC's Largest Position

Dividend Assets Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,311 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.5% of Dividend Assets Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Dividend Assets Capital LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Microsoft by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,439,407,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,539 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in Microsoft by 46.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,032,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222,483 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,125,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 43,900.4% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,042,499 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $860,913,000 after buying an additional 2,037,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $530.00 to $472.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $493.89.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $391.16. 16,533,069 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,150,512. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $384.93 and a 200-day moving average of $411.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.49, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

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.