Skye Global Management LP Sells 60,000 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Skye Global Management LP lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 594,000 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 60,000 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 6.2% of Skye Global Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Skye Global Management LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $255,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.0 %

Microsoft stock opened at $410.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $432.53 and a 200 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 current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.