Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Meyer Handelman Co.’s Largest Position

Meyer Handelman Co. cut its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 480,508 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 16,082 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 7.0% of Meyer Handelman Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $206,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $75,000. Bellevue Group AG raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This represents a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 209,431 shares of company stock worth $85,796,688 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $422.99 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $362.90 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $421.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $426.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

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.