Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Decreased by Eastover Investment Advisors LLC

Eastover Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,104 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 5.3% of Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rebalance LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.8% in the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $4,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. This trade represents a 4.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 183,431 shares of company stock valued at $74,956,968 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $417.00 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $362.90 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $421.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 24.75%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans 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.