Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Lessened by Eagle Asset Management Inc.

Eagle Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 882,459 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 58,125 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.0% of Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $372,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $447.24 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $431.42 and a 200 day moving average of $425.08. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $385.58 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $548.00 to $540.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.66.

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.