Prio Wealth Limited Partnership Has $181.18 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Prio Wealth Limited Partnership reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 421,052 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 9,708 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.3% of Prio Wealth Limited Partnership’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $181,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $47,612,000 after acquiring an additional 43,327 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 35,888 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC now owns 17,522 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,372,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 6,734,231 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,831,742,000 after acquiring an additional 66,768 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $447.27 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $424.16 and its 200 day moving average is $427.64. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $364.13 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.43.

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.