Avitas Wealth Management LLC Sells 985 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 83,620 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 985 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.9% of Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $35,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $70,790,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the 3rd 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 worth $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $20,322,513,000 after purchasing an additional 652,493 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 406,940 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $375.39 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $367.24 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $404.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $418.77.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $508.86.

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.