Core Alternative Capital Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Core Alternative Capital cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,565 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 6,245 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.5% of Core Alternative Capital’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Core Alternative Capital’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. BCK Partners Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the third quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the third quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price target (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $505.41.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $381.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $392.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $414.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued 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 0.87%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.