Cheviot Value Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cheviot Value Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,616 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 842 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 4.9% of Cheviot Value Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Cheviot Value Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Echo45 Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 5.6% during the first quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 5,856 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,464,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Chico Wealth RIA increased its position in Microsoft by 31.7% during the first quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 1,913 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. MGO Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 16.2% during the first quarter. MGO Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,040 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 8.8% during the first quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,070 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,658,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the first quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 206,954 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $87,070,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

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 value of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $422.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $360.36 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $421.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.75%.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.