Institute for Wealth Management LLC. Reduces Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Institute for Wealth Management LLC. reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,361 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 227 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.7% of Institute for Wealth Management LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Institute for Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $393.08 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $376.91 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $408.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $419.63.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its 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 last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.59.

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.