Bluesphere Advisors LLC Has $8.16 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Bluesphere Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 19,369 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 4.0% of Bluesphere Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Bluesphere Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,375 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,638,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Five Oceans Advisors boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 13,471 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,678,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 54,009 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $22,765,000 after buying an additional 2,299 shares during the period. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 146,778 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $61,867,000 after acquiring an additional 6,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,888 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,501,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $390.58 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $376.91 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $406.52 and a 200 day moving average of $419.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 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 in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.59.

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.