Merriman Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,351 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Merriman Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,292 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,351 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.6% of Merriman Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Merriman Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rebalance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. First National Bank Sioux Falls grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Doheny Asset Management CA increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,691,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.2 %

MSFT opened at $425.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $360.36 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.10, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $420.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.80.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

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.