Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC

Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,833 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,439 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.2% of Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth 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% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MSFT traded down $1.98 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $357.86. The company had a trading volume of 50,017,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,896,489. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.93 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $397.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $416.67.

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.00.

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.