Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC Sells 3,523 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,258 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,523 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 7.9% of Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $75,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 target price (down from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.89.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $394.04 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. 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 $384.02 and its 200 day moving average is $411.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 posted $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. 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.