Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Trims Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,237 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,547 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.1% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $3.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $367.78. 20,940,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,277,339. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $413.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 0.90%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $499.97.

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.