Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC Sells 217 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,656 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 217 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.8% of Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $391.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $376.91 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $408.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $419.67. 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) last posted 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued 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 0.85%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.59.

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.