Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Trimmed by Essex LLC

Essex LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,278 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.4% of Essex LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Essex LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,645,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $882,816,000 after acquiring an additional 31,401 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its stake in Microsoft by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 106,292 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $45,737,000 after acquiring an additional 10,421 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.36.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $449.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $364.13 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $422.87 and a 200-day moving average of $427.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

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.