New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $4.28 Billion Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,148,406 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,283 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 5.7% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.14% of Microsoft worth $4,277,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Callahan Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 123,014 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $51,850,000 after acquiring an additional 6,953 shares in the last quarter. Schubert & Co lifted its stake in Microsoft by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Schubert & Co now owns 1,615 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in Microsoft by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 269,019 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,392,000 after buying an additional 48,946 shares in the last quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 9,102 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,837,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 3,893 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $359.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $387.26 and its 200 day moving average is $412.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $497.63.

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.