Aspiring Ventures LLC Takes $1.72 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Aspiring Ventures LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,000 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,716,000. Microsoft comprises 1.2% of Aspiring Ventures LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in 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 boosted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $388.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $412.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $420.55. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $376.91 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (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 posted $2.93 EPS. 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 declared 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 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 Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.43.

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.