Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Berry Wealth Group LP

Berry Wealth Group LP reduced its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,833 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 698 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 5.8% of Berry Wealth Group LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Berry Wealth Group LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rebalance LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,834,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted 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 worth $4,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft 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 $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $447.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $424.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $427.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $364.13 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

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

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $505.43.

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.