Swmg LLC Lowers Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Swmg LLC decreased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,884 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. Swmg LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $395.16 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $407.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $419.53. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $376.91 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Mizuho decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.