Forza Wealth Management LLC Sells 294 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Forza Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,913 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 294 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.3% of Forza Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Forza Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $416.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $425.98 and a 200-day moving average of $422.79. The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.