Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Martin Capital Partners LLC

Martin Capital Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 54.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,720 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 6,782 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.9% of Martin Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BCK Partners Inc. grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $382.19 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $367.24 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $403.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $418.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 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.