Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. Sells 773 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,798 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 773 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.3% of Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 16,915 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Willner & Heller LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.0% in the third quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 8,006 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,445,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.0% during the third quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 3,168 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Bright Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bright Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 956 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 8,850 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. This trade represents a 4.76 % 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 ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $423.46 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $362.90 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $420.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $426.55.

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

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors 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 reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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