Ninety One UK Ltd Purchases 147,660 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,556,617 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 147,660 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 7.4% of Ninety One UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.09% of Microsoft worth $2,763,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.9 %

MSFT opened at $375.39 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $404.45 and a 200-day moving average of $418.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $367.24 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current 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 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 0.88%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.86.

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.