Parthenon LLC Sells 7,469 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Parthenon LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 251,359 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,469 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 14.3% of Parthenon LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $112,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 6,448 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Arbor Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $852,000. Fountainhead AM LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 5,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,313,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 113,964 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,899,000 after buying an additional 9,529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. New Street Research began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.72.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $435.27 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $420.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $424.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.69, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.