Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,810 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 404 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.5% of Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Sharp Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Sharp Financial Services LLC now owns 2,566 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Rolek Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $753,000. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,501 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,724,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,439 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 19,297 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,134,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.54.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $380.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $415.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $421.54. 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 1-year low of $377.22 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.