SOL Capital Management CO Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

SOL Capital Management CO trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,551 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,006 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.1% of SOL Capital Management CO's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. SOL Capital Management CO's holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% in the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant's stock worth $32,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,314,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 389.2% in the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $23,137,000 after buying an additional 42,778 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Microsoft Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MSFT traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $390.58. 13,741,615 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,928,355. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $407.20 and a 200 day moving average of $419.45. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $376.91 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.59.

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.