Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Decreased by Financial Advisory Partners LLC

Financial Advisory Partners LLC cut its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,446 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.9% of Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. BCK Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Sequent Asset Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.3% during the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $382.14 on Thursday. 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 cap of $2.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $367.24 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $402.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $418.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.