Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Decreased by EMC Capital Management

EMC Capital Management reduced its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 85.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,359 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 8,110 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 0.3% of EMC Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during 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 last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $391.26 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $376.91 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $408.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $419.74. 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. 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 presently 26.73%.

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.