Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Vista Investment Partners LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Vista Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,187 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 591 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.3% of Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Castle Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,088 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,041,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 103,199 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $38,807,000 after acquiring an additional 16,786 shares during the period. MontVue Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $549,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 25,066 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,426,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $435.15 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $422.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $423.73. The company has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. 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 data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

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.