Hantz Financial Services Inc. Lowers Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 263,870 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 9,371 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.9% of Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $111,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted 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 buying an additional 25 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $391.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $408.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $419.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $376.91 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.59.

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.