Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Auxier Asset Management’s Largest Position

Auxier Asset Management lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,435 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,419 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 6.7% of Auxier Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $45,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP raised its position in Microsoft by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 39,743 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,783 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whelan Financial raised its position in Microsoft by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 3,961 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,770,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade 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 worth $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $410.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $432.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.44. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $385.58 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho dropped their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

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.