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

Baring Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 7,964 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $3,357,000. Microsoft comprises about 3.0% of Baring Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $391.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $408.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $419.67. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $376.91 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 payout ratio is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Tigress Financial raised 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. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.