Pacifica Partners Inc. Sells 1,263 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Pacifica Partners Inc. lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,000 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,263 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.9% of Pacifica Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Pacifica Partners Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wambolt & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 27,021 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,695,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 573.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 11,718 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,702,000 after acquiring an additional 9,978 shares during the last quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 47,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,974,000 after acquiring an additional 3,237 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,717 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 4,378.0% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 45,720 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,436,000 after purchasing an additional 44,699 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $446.95 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $456.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $424.11 and a 200-day moving average of $409.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

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.