Convergence Investment Partners LLC Sells 3,740 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,389 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,740 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.3% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 39,541 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,667,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,472,000. Vawter Financial Ltd. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Vawter Financial Ltd. now owns 1,014 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $5,364,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DA Davidson raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $497.63.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $366.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $386.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $411.95. 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 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.