Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc.

Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,359 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 649 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.3% of Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0 %

MSFT stock opened at $367.78 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $389.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $413.21.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.97.

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.