Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Takes Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,001,712 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $422,222,000. Microsoft makes up about 8.5% of Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $168,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $391.16 on Tuesday. 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 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $384.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $411.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.89.

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.