Verity Asset Management Inc. Sells 8,029 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Verity Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 48.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,425 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 8,029 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.9% of Verity Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Verity Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,567,258,000 after acquiring an additional 38,422,466 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,539 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 46.1% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,032,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $9.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $373.11. The stock had a trading volume of 30,133,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,642,636. 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 P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company's fifty day moving average is $400.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $417.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

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, 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 last year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.