Alaska Wealth Advisors Sells 282 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Alaska Wealth Advisors lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,156 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 282 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 0.2% of Alaska Wealth Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Alaska Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,920,047,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,587,119,000. TCI Fund Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,000,376,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 77.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,281,925 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,642,931,000 after buying an additional 2,744,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $435.27 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $420.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. New Street Research began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

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.