Vanderbilt University Has $7.15 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Vanderbilt University lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,952 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,846 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.4% of Vanderbilt University's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Vanderbilt University's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $508.86.

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Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $9.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $373.11. The company had a trading volume of 30,133,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,642,729. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $367.24 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $402.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $418.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

About Microsoft

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.