Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Nova R Wealth Inc.

Nova R Wealth Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,566 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,015 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 0.8% of Nova R Wealth Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Nova R Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% during the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $32,830,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $3,314,000. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the third quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 42,176 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,148,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $502.83.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $385.73 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $390.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $413.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Microsoft Profile

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.