Certuity LLC Trims Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Certuity LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,952 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,021 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.1% of Certuity LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Certuity LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Mizuho decreased their price target 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. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price target (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $387.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,355,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,173,490. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The business's 50 day moving average price is $391.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $414.11. The company has a market cap of $2.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Microsoft's payout ratio 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.