SNS Financial Group LLC Cuts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

SNS Financial Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,710 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,043 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 0.9% of SNS Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. SNS Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in 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 last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $472.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.80.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $374.58 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $385.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $411.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 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.