Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lowered by Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management

Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,602 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.6% of Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 113,168 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $47,612,000 after buying an additional 43,327 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Research LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 119,176 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $50,141,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,536 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,999,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $409,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $417.00 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $362.90 and a 52-week 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $421.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $426.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This represents a 8.31 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Company 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.