Optas LLC Acquires 1,490 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Optas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,880 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.8% of Optas LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Optas LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during 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 lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.1% during the 3rd 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 valued at $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 652,493 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 406,940 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded down $3.41 during trading on Monday, reaching $375.39. 35,114,161 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,581,628. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $405.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $419.10. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $367.31 and a twelve month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.