Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Trimmed by Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,027 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,402 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.7% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the second quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,591 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,840,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Bay Rivers Group raised its stake in Microsoft by 7.4% during the second quarter. Bay Rivers Group now owns 14,634 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.4% during the second quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 53,493 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 13,097 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,854,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 25,679 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,477,000 after buying an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $435.27 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $420.92 and a 200-day moving average of $424.33.

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. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. 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 yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

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.