Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Clarity Financial LLC

Clarity Financial LLC grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,009 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,545 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.1% of Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,790,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264,648 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,322,513,000 after purchasing an additional 652,493 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,104,959,000 after buying an additional 406,940 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $391.26 on Monday. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $408.82 and a 200-day moving average of $419.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $376.91 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.