Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,454 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 12,324 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 2.3% of Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,439,407,000 after buying an additional 4,568,539 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 46.1% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,032,859,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 4.1% during 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 worth $23,490,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 3.7 %

MSFT opened at $371.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $390.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $413.52. The company has a market cap of $2.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm posted $2.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.97.

About Microsoft

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.