Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lowered by Bank Hapoalim BM

Bank Hapoalim BM reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 38,890 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 853 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.5% of Bank Hapoalim BM’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Bank Hapoalim BM’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vinland Capital Management Gestora de Recursos LTDA. increased its position in Microsoft by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vinland Capital Management Gestora de Recursos LTDA. now owns 1,800 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 39,348 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,931,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Tevis Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 7,759 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,339,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Microsoft by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 733 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,168,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’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 $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $424.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $428.90 and a 200 day moving average of $428.85. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $366.50 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced 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 business had revenue of $65.59 billion during 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 for the quarter 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, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.90.

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.