Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is NewEdge Wealth LLC’s Largest Position

NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 679,931 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,208 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.0% of NewEdge Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $286,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $435.28 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $384.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $411.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, 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. 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 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.77.

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.