Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by First City Capital Management Inc.

First City Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,781 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 745 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 6.2% of First City Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 493.0% during the 1st quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 23,122 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,728,000 after purchasing an additional 19,223 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services & Investments LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services & Investments LLC now owns 14,869 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,256,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 29,192 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,282,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 40,134 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,885,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP increased its position in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 31,753 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,359,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $422.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $421.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $424.95. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $360.36 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.86, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.91.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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 issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

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.