Pegasus Asset Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Pegasus Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,184 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,093 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 5.9% of Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 127.5% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 684,429 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $294,510,000 after purchasing an additional 383,542 shares during the last quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,215 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Capital LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sierra Capital LLC now owns 15,673 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $28,878,000. Finally, Harbor Advisory Corp MA lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.5% during the third quarter. Harbor Advisory Corp MA now owns 15,692 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,752,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.43.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.0 %

MSFT stock opened at $451.59 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $425.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $427.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $366.50 and a twelve month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

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.