Simmons Bank Sells 1,670 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Simmons Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,160 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,670 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.1% of Simmons Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Simmons Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $41,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth 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 Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $9.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $435.28. 30,732,671 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,356,359. The company has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $384.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $411.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 given 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 0.76%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $507.77.

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.