Bellevue Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Bellevue Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 142,190 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,353 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 35.1% of Bellevue Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Bellevue Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $63,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the second quarter. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. now owns 17,514 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,828,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Biechele Royce Advisors grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% in the second quarter. Biechele Royce Advisors now owns 3,792 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.9% in the second quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 59,484 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $26,586,000 after acquiring an additional 4,354 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 85,899 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $38,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 922,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $412,150,000 after acquiring an additional 7,521 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.47.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $416.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $324.39 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $417.92 and a 200-day moving average of $424.63.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Microsoft declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.