Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Pineridge Advisors LLC

Pineridge Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,083 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 109 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.4% of Pineridge Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Pineridge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Panoramic Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,702,000. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV raised its position in Microsoft by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 7,960 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,355,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 28,047 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,822,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Partners LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 9,676 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 10.1 %

MSFT opened at $390.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. 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 twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $392.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $415.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 price target (down from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.00.

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.