Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Cut by LGT Financial Advisors LLC

LGT Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 26.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,039 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,076 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.2% of LGT Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. LGT Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,767,000 after purchasing an additional 97,075 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,091,789 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,768,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,533 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,587,576,000 after purchasing an additional 45,220 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,890,530,000 after buying an additional 49,288 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $424.56 on Thursday. 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 $371.19 and a one year high of $468.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $428.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $427.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho increased their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.