Financial Partners Group Inc Trims Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Financial Partners Group Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,279 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 2.6% of Financial Partners Group Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Financial Partners Group Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,567,258,000 after buying an additional 38,422,466 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,439,407,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,539 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,790,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 46.1% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,032,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222,483 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $378.80 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $376.91 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $405.52 and its 200 day moving average is $419.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

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.