Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 152,245 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 13,908 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.1% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $65,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $75,000. Bellevue Group AG raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $430.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.56, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $362.90 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $420.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $426.55.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 212,931 shares of company stock worth $87,297,343. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.