Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,250 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 681 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.6% of Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.1% in the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,604 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,993,000 after buying an additional 874 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $12,882,000. Leslie Global Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Invictus Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invictus Private Wealth LLC now owns 90,577 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $38,975,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wisconsin Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC now owns 25,813 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,107,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.62.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $422.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $428.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $427.79. 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 12 month low of $369.01 and a 12 month high of $468.35.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during 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 revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.