Byrne Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,287 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 6.4% of Byrne Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Byrne Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $2,645,000. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% in the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $32,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,314,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $359.84 on Monday. 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 12-month low of $359.48 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $399.08 and its 200 day moving average is $417.18.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $508.86.

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.