Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY Sells 45 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,341 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 3.8% of Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. BCK Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Flagship Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,309,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

MSFT opened at $421.50 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $366.50 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $428.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $428.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.