Demars Financial Group LLC Sells 41 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Demars Financial Group LLC lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,941 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 0.4% of Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Bayesian Capital Management LP boosted its position in Microsoft by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,238,000 after acquiring an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,767 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,545,000 after buying an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,307,487 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $550,086,000 after buying an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 296.7% in the 1st quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,538,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9 %

Microsoft stock opened at $435.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $422.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $423.73.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. New Street Research began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

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.