Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 178,152 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,849 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 8.1% of LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $75,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during 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 period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $409.40 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $428.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $422.85. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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 company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from 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.