Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 4,439 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,833 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,439 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.2% of Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1900 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 82.4% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,288 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 122.9% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 36,134 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,230,000 after purchasing an additional 19,923 shares during the period. Hedeker Wealth LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 46,962 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,794,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McHugh Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,961,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $373.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $367.24 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $400.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $417.80.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average 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.