GEM Asset Management LLC Sells 137 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

GEM Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,336 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 2.7% of GEM Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. GEM Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 39,511 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,654,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,103,000. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 24,765 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,439,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 90,230 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $38,032,000 after purchasing an additional 6,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,605 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,470,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 target price (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $505.41.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $388.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $391.89 and a 200 day moving average of $414.53. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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 period last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

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.