Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Scharf Investments LLC's 5th Largest Position

Scharf Investments LLC lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 424,895 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 26,035 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 5.3% of Scharf Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Scharf Investments LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $179,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% during the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $113,399,000 after buying an additional 18,544 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $32,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $3,314,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 389.2% in the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant's stock worth $23,137,000 after buying an additional 42,778 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

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Microsoft Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of MSFT traded down $9.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $380.75. The stock had a trading volume of 5,999,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,468,536. The company has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.65, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $406.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $419.25. 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 1-year low of $376.91 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.59.

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.