Mcdonald Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Mcdonald Partners LLC cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,948 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,237 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.9% of Mcdonald Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Mcdonald Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in Microsoft by 144.4% during 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. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut 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. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $493.13.

Microsoft Stock Up 3.2 %

MSFT stock traded up $12.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $386.48. The stock had a trading volume of 11,146,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,222,488. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The company's 50 day moving average is $385.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $411.70. 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 market capitalization of $2.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current 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 $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.