Sentry Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,967 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,806 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.2% of Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $395.26 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $383.76 and a 200-day moving average of $410.91. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Barclays cut their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 target price (down from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.89.

Microsoft 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.