Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.02 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,428 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.5% of Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Microsoft by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,539 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,032,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $367.78 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $389.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $413.21.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $530.00 to $472.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.97.

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.