Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Sycomore Asset Management

Sycomore Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 37.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 189,860 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 51,443 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 10.3% of Sycomore Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Sycomore Asset Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $81,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BCK Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Sequent Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,380,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,941,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 price objective (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Westpark Capital began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four research 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $505.41.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $7.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $388.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,826,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,250,515. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $391.89 and its 200-day moving average is $414.41.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.