Insight Folios Inc Sells 71 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Insight Folios Inc reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,283 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Insight Folios Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 5.4% in the third quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,517 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,677,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.5% in the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,054 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Cavalier Investments LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 11,859 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,103,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Finally, Montgomery Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Montgomery Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,455 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,790,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $439.33 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $427.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $428.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $366.50 and a twelve month high of $468.35. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.90.

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.