Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,853 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 739 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.8% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,812,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Bayesian Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,238,000 after acquiring an additional 18,200 shares in the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,767 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,307,487 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $550,086,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares in the last quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 296.7% in the 1st quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,538,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $414.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.86, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $425.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $423.06. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $506.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Macquarie increased their target price on Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 130,751 shares of company stock worth $53,628,156. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.