Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by SOL Capital Management CO

SOL Capital Management CO cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,551 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,006 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.1% of SOL Capital Management CO’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. SOL Capital Management CO’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,567,258,000 after buying an additional 38,422,466 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Microsoft by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,539 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,032,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222,483 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $391.26 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $408.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $419.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lowered 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. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.59.

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.