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

Geneva Partners LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,513 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,166 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.6% of Geneva Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Geneva Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% in the second quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $427.85 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $428.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $427.95. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $369.01 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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 company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lowered shares of 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. Loop Capital upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup dropped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.62.

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.