Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Patron Partners LLC

Patron Partners LLC cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,327 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 271 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.5% of Patron Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 14.1% in the second quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,431 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Seven Post Investment Office LP boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 213.4% in the 2nd quarter. Seven Post Investment Office LP now owns 6,462 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC now owns 5,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $1,151,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 19,577 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,750,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $418.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $324.39 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $419.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.55.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.74%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Argus increased their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.68.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.