Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,798 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 773 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.3% of Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Microsoft by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 113,168 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $47,612,000 after buying an additional 43,327 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 35,888 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 12.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 173,802 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $73,122,000 after acquiring an additional 18,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 17.7% during the first quarter. Howard Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This represents a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 209,431 shares of company stock worth $85,796,688. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $423.46 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $420.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $426.55. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $362.90 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.