Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Reduced by Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 183,909 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,958 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.2% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA's holdings in Microsoft were worth $77,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 18,052 shares during the last quarter. Centric Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,789,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,250,128 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,980,299,000 after acquiring an additional 217,509 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $433.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $386.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $411.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho increased their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $507.77.

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.

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