Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by TRUE Private Wealth Advisors

TRUE Private Wealth Advisors cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,445 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 8,090 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.8% of TRUE Private Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,399,000 after acquiring an additional 18,544 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.6% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $882,816,000 after acquiring an additional 31,401 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $41,318,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $32,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $412.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $432.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $424.21.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, 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 three months, 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

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

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.