bLong Financial LLC Takes Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

bLong Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 10,627 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $4,479,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.7% of bLong Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,009 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,797,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 48,169 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $20,303,000 after buying an additional 5,342 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 9,997 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,214,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $559,000. Finally, TigerOak Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,629,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $367.78 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $389.13 and a 200-day moving average of $413.21. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.97.

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.