Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 157 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,158 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 0.9% of Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during 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 lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $380.45 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $376.91 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $414.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $421.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.54.

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.