Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Clarus Group Inc.

Clarus Group Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,033 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,842 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 2.7% of Clarus Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Clarus Group Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock worth $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $32,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth $3,314,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 389.2% during the third quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant's stock worth $23,137,000 after purchasing an additional 42,778 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $4.63 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $393.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,955,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,177,789. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $391.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $414.41.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush cut their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $504.90.

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.