Riverbridge Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 590,484 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 10,292 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.6% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $263,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter worth about $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $430.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $423.50 and its 200 day moving average is $423.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 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.