Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Decreased by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 82,379 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 880 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.1% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $34,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BCK Partners Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Sequent Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $387.82 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 firm has a market cap of $2.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $410.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $420.08. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $376.91 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.43.

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.