Mcrae Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,766 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Mcrae Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,273 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,766 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 6.1% of Mcrae Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Mcrae Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Bank of America reduced their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. 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. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $499.97.

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Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $14.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $371.61. 21,938,586 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,233,013. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $390.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $413.81. The company has a market cap of $2.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

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.