Sage Investment Advisers LLC Lowers Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sage Investment Advisers LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,424 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 1.7% of Sage Investment Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Sage Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Sandbar Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $242,000. Matthew 25 Management Corp boosted its position in Microsoft by 26.7% during the third quarter. Matthew 25 Management Corp now owns 19,000 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,999,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 48.3% in the third quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 76,884 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $24,276,000 after purchasing an additional 25,048 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2,777.8% in the third quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pring Turner Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pring Turner Capital Group Inc. now owns 9,959 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,145,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $460.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $461.02. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $427.29 and a 200 day moving average of $411.76.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $465.00 price objective (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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