Janney Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Janney Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,698 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,426 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.4% of Janney Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in 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. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $393.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $416.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $421.85. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $381.00 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.54.

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.