Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Windward Capital Management Co. CA

Windward Capital Management Co. CA lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,983 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 903 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.1% of Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Legacy Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1,181.1% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 8,596 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,616,000 after purchasing an additional 7,925 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the first quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 42,064 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,697,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 209,717 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,232,000 after buying an additional 11,981 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,609,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,216,000 after acquiring an additional 2,888 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $427.51 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $420.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.56. The company has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $324.39 and a 12-month 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.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.68.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,843,807.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company 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.