United Asset Strategies Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,024 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.9% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $42,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.6% in the third 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 during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $32,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,314,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.43.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0 %

MSFT stock opened at $388.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $411.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $420.49. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $376.91 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

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.