Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Lodestone Wealth Management LLC

Lodestone Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,949 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 358 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.9% of Lodestone Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 18,328 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 12,771 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,708,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Seneca House Advisors raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Seneca House Advisors now owns 29,125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,017,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% in the second quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 32,309 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,441,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $423.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $366.50 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $428.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $428.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.90.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is 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.