Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Cut by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 620,600 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 17,400 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.9% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $261,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $388.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $391.89 and a 200 day moving average of $414.53.

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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. 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 note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.41.

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.