Bray Capital Advisors Reduces Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Bray Capital Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,946 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,290 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.8% of Bray Capital Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Bray Capital Advisors' holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted 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 worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $391.16. The company had a trading volume of 16,533,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,150,692. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $384.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $411.17. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price target (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $450.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $493.89.

Microsoft 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.