Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lowered by Capital Investment Counsel LLC

Capital Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 38,111 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 2.7% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. BCK Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 period. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,941,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $386.84 on Friday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $376.91 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $409.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $419.85. The company has a market cap of $2.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.59.

Microsoft 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.