Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Yacktman Asset Management LP

Yacktman Asset Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,248,427 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 284,382 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.5% of Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $537,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $423.35 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $366.50 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.93, a PEG 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $428.62 and a 200-day moving average of $428.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.