bLong Financial LLC Makes New $4.48 Million Investment in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

bLong Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,627 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $4,479,000. Microsoft accounts for about 3.7% of bLong Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush reduced their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given 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 target price of $499.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $367.78 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $2.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $389.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $413.21. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

Microsoft 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.