Evanson Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Evanson Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,807 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,447 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.0% of Evanson Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Evanson Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bayesian Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,238,000 after purchasing an additional 18,200 shares during the period. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,767 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,307,487 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $550,086,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares during the period. True Link Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 296.7% during the first quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $9,538,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $408.90 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $429.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $422.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

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.