Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc

Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,045 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.8% of Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,528 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,603,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the period. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 17,700 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,461,000 after acquiring an additional 6,100 shares during the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,958 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $825,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 284.7% during the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 416,782 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $175,673,000 after purchasing an additional 308,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 147,132 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $62,016,000 after purchasing an additional 30,502 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 target price (down from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.97.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $367.78 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $388.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $412.70. 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 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Microsoft 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.