Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Bamco Inc. NY

Bamco Inc. NY lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 577,172 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 43,757 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 0.7% of Bamco Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $248,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,214,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.7% in the third quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 41,624 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $2,615,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,975,000. Finally, B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $413.29 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $432.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.28, 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

About Microsoft

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.