Avaii Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Avaii Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,487 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 27 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 0.5% of Avaii Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Avaii Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,490,417,000 after buying an additional 2,125,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,322,513,000 after buying an additional 652,493 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after purchasing an additional 406,940 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $388.56 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $376.91 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $412.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $420.64.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.43.

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.