Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s 3rd Largest Position

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,603,020 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 251,800 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 5.8% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,518,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. BCK Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Sequent Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 price objective (down from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $530.00 to $472.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.80.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $374.58 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $385.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $411.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

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.