Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,774 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.6% of Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 worth $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $20,322,513,000 after buying an additional 652,493 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after acquiring an additional 406,940 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.86.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $382.14 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $367.24 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $402.24 and a 200-day moving average of $418.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

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.