Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Cuts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,129 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 818 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.6% of Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $65,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 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 valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 price target (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.97.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $367.78 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $388.25 and its 200 day moving average is $412.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 posted $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Microsoft Company 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.