Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by MCF Advisors LLC

MCF Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,971 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 0.9% of MCF Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Farrow Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the third quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 7,669 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,300,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 12,833 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,522,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $728,000. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 122,748 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $52,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 9,299 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,001,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $435.25 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $366.50 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $427.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $428.51.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Three investment 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.90.

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.