Old Port Advisors Sells 164 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Old Port Advisors trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,337 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.9% of Old Port Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction 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 represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,333,540. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $409.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.93, 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 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $430.67 and its 200-day moving average is $423.24.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.