Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Sells 1,286 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 93,654 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,286 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.1% of Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $45,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $397.12 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. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $420.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $422.62.

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, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.32, for a total value of $874,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 51,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,675,916.64. This represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 7,000 shares of company stock worth $3,070,340 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

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.