Shira Ridge Wealth Management Sells 359 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Shira Ridge Wealth Management reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,980 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 359 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.5% of Shira Ridge Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Shira Ridge Wealth Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $281,035,506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078,099 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,160,020,000 after purchasing an additional 842,884 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,767,000 after purchasing an additional 97,075 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Microsoft by 6.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,091,789 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,768,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,587,576,000 after purchasing an additional 45,220 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $423.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $362.90 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $420.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $426.53.

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

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 209,431 shares of company stock valued at $85,796,688 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Company 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.