Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Aspen Investment Management Inc

Aspen Investment Management Inc reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,827 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.5% of Aspen Investment Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Aspen Investment Management Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. BCK Partners Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Sequent Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Microsoft from $530.00 to $472.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.13.

Microsoft Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $387.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $385.28 and its 200 day moving average is $411.53. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.