Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Cut by MGB Wealth Management LLC

MGB Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,348 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,833 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.1% of MGB Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. MGB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total transaction of $1,077,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 53,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,203,211.24. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 134,578 shares of company stock worth $55,279,956. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $431.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $420.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $426.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $362.90 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

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

Microsoft declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

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.