Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Boosted by Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC

Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,778 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 6,581 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.6% of Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $61,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,125,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $20,322,513,000 after acquiring an additional 652,493 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 406,940 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $11.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $378.80. 21,606,792 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,523,498. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $376.91 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $405.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $419.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

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.