Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by PineStone Asset Management Inc.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,242,074 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 192,806 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 8.9% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. PineStone Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $945,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $3.83 on Friday, hitting $367.78. The stock had a trading volume of 20,940,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,277,339. The business's fifty day moving average price is $389.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $413.21. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. 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 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 target price (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 7th. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $499.97.

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.