Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 34 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,411 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.6% of Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $24,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lion Street Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,669 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,803,120 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,196,374,000 after purchasing an additional 134,593 shares during the last quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 13,071 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,509,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Jericho Financial LLP bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,272,000. Finally, Berkshire Money Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8 %

MSFT stock opened at $382.19 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $403.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $418.45. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $367.24 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $508.86.

About Microsoft

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.