Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 156,129 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 818 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.6% of Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $65,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BCK Partners Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 3.0 %

Microsoft stock traded up $11.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $377.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,482,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,177,769. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two 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 market cap of $2.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $386.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $411.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Microsoft from $530.00 to $472.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 target price (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $497.63.

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.