Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,719 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,025 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.9% of Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $281,035,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078,099 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,920,047,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,160,020,000 after acquiring an additional 842,884 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,505,600 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,591,126,000 after acquiring an additional 277,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,381,692 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,544,532,000 after acquiring an additional 403,409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $506.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $430.59 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $309.45 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $423.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $423.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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.