Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Reduced by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 345,682 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,157 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.1% of Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $145,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BCK Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Sequent Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.3% during the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8 %

MSFT opened at $382.19 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $403.52 and its 200-day moving average is $418.45. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $367.24 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

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 the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.86.

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.