Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Reduced by REDW Wealth LLC

REDW Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 33.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,759 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,859 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.1% of REDW Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. REDW Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $453.13 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $393.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $412.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.16.

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.