Baron Wealth Management LLC Has $3.72 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,814 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.7% of Baron Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,399,000 after buying an additional 18,544 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $32,830,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,314,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 389.2% in the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,137,000 after buying an additional 42,778 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $391.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $408.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $419.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $376.91 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.59.

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.