Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s Largest Position

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,126,977 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 323,839 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 6.0% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.06% of Microsoft worth $1,739,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in 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 in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $502.83.

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Microsoft Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $2.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $385.73. 17,146,935 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,230,091. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The stock's fifty day moving average is $391.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $414.11. 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 has a market cap of $2.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, 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 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.