Salomon & Ludwin LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Salomon & Ludwin LLC decreased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 55,771 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 419 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.5% of Salomon & Ludwin LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Salomon & Ludwin LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $367.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization 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. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $389.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $413.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.97.

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.