Vantage Investment Partners LLC Sells 695 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,170 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 695 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.3% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $38,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings 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 boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth 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 last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $387.82 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $376.91 and a fifty-two week 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. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $410.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $420.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.43.

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.