Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Lincoln Capital Corp

Lincoln Capital Corp lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,914 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 8.8% of Lincoln Capital Corp’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Lincoln Capital Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.54.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $383.27 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $413.92 and its 200 day moving average is $421.06. The company has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $376.91 and a twelve month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.