Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.

Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,481 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,429 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 4.7% of Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.7% during the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 196,184 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $81,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,124 shares during the period. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 25,917 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,904,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 53,689 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,102,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. Canal Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 12.7% during the third quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,306 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,435,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $436.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $427.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.42. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 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 Co. has a one year low of $366.50 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.