Moseley Investment Management Inc. Sells 960 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Moseley Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,149 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 960 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.8% of Moseley Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Moseley Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Community Trust NA increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 21,175 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,925,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Clarus Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Microsoft by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 3,648 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 58,599 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $24,703,000 after purchasing an additional 15,206 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 238,354 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $100,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36,889 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $404.00 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $424.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $423.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total value of $1,077,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 53,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,203,211.24. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,493,820 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.