Warther Private Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Warther Private Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,065 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,800 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.8% of Warther Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Warther Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $388.45 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $391.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $414.53. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $505.41.

Microsoft Company 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.