Brown Financial Advisory Purchases Shares of 648 Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Brown Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 648 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000. Microsoft accounts for 0.2% of Brown Financial Advisory’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,399,000 after acquiring an additional 18,544 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,314,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 389.2% during the third quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,137,000 after purchasing an additional 42,778 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $395.16 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $376.91 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 fifty day moving average price is $407.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $419.53.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Company 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.