Aua Capital Management LLC Sells 753 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Aua Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,206 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 753 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.9% of Aua Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Aua Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Westpark Capital began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.86.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8 %

MSFT opened at $382.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $403.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $418.45. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $367.24 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

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.