GFS Advisors LLC Sells 174 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

GFS Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 49,359 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.2% of GFS Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. GFS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the third 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 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring 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 about $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $395.16 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $407.93 and its 200 day moving average is $419.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $376.91 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.