Alterna Wealth Management Inc. Acquires 41 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Alterna Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,661 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.3% of Alterna Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Alterna Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 38,422,466 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 76.6% during the 4th 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 46.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,032,859,000 after buying an additional 2,222,483 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 2,125,030 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $378.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $405.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $418.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $376.91 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Company 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.