Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 67.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,655 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 19,617 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $357.86 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $397.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $416.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm posted $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid 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 0.93%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $508.00.

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.