Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by First Affirmative Financial Network

First Affirmative Financial Network increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,872 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.4% of First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $391.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $376.91 and a 1-year 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $408.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $419.67.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

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.