Diversified Investment Strategies LLC Sells 585 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Diversified Investment Strategies LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,667 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 585 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.6% of Diversified Investment Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Diversified Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BCK Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Sequent Asset Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,380,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC grew 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $391.26 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $408.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $419.65. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $376.91 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 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 previous year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.59.

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.