Meridian Financial LLC Trims Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Meridian Financial LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,242 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.1% of Meridian Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Meridian Financial LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BCK Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,997 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Sequent Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $388.49 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $419.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $422.59. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $385.58 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

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.