Studio Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Studio Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,625 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 209 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.0% of Studio Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Studio Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.66.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $442.33 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $432.01 and its 200 day moving average is $425.03. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the 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 directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.