Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Cut by Synergy Asset Management LLC

Synergy Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,090 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 443 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 5.5% of Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Monumental Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 534.5% during the second quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.0 %

MSFT opened at $413.64 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $275.37 and a 12 month high of $430.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.40, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $415.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $383.26.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. BNP Paribas raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Raymond James increased their price target on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price target on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.52.

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.