New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,552 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 456 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.7% of New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,490,417,000 after buying an additional 2,125,030 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $20,322,513,000 after buying an additional 652,493 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,567,258,000 after acquiring an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after acquiring an additional 406,940 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $393.08 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $408.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $419.63. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $376.91 and a one year high of $468.35. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock 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 for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.