Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Sells 3,113 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 204,772 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,113 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 5.0% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $88,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 206.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 9,164 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,943,000 after buying an additional 6,178 shares in the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 4.6% during the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 13,470 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,797,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the third quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 107,305 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,173,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Affiance Financial LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the third quarter. Affiance Financial LLC now owns 12,241 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,268,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 26,868 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,561,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

MSFT stock opened at $423.46 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $362.90 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $420.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $426.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. KeyCorp upped their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were 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 directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 209,431 shares of company stock worth $85,796,688 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.