Asset Dedication LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Asset Dedication LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,894 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 9,005 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 1.3% of Asset Dedication LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,248,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 161,701 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,157,000 after buying an additional 6,426 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $594,000. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 190,212 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $80,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Boyer National Bank increased its position in Microsoft by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 8,309 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Mizuho dropped their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $386.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $409.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $419.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $376.91 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

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.