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

Sweet Financial Partners LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,536 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.4% of Sweet Financial Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Sweet Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its position in Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% during the second 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 in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $443.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $421.47 and its 200-day moving average is $427.00. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $364.13 and a one year high of $468.35. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $504.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.32, for a total transaction of $874,640.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 51,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,675,916.64. The trade was a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,578 shares of company stock valued at $24,450,096. 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.