Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Sells 2,393 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 191,971 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,393 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.0% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $80,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew 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 buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $388.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $412.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $420.59. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $376.91 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research 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.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.43.

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.