Garde Capital Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Garde Capital Inc. decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,348 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.3% of Garde Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Garde Capital Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $49,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,000 shares of company stock worth $14,333,540. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $408.43 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $429.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $423.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 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 firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.