Northstar Group Inc. Has $4.85 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Northstar Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,506 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 0.8% of Northstar Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Northstar Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $2,645,000. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 18,544 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $32,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $3,314,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 3.6 %

Microsoft stock opened at $359.84 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $399.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $417.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $359.48 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $2.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced 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 in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $508.86.

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.