Modera Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Modera Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 416,107 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,411 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 2.1% of Modera Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Modera Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $175,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth 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 increased 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $507.77.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $438.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,313,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,454,441. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $389.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $411.54.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.