Sonnipe Ltd Reduces Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sonnipe Ltd decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 31.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,220 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,497 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 0.6% of Sonnipe Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Sonnipe Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Towerpoint Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Towerpoint Wealth LLC now owns 8,526 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,587,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the first quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,779 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,425,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the first quarter. Onyx Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,961,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,081 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 8,240 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,467,000 after purchasing an additional 52 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 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.0 %

MSFT stock opened at $410.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.77 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $420.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.62.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.22. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

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.