Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Heritage Wealth Partners LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Heritage Wealth Partners LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,852 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 437 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.5% of Heritage Wealth Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Heritage Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $75,000. Bellevue Group AG lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $421.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $426.35. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $362.90 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a stock 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 buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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 given a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the 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 owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 209,431 shares of company stock worth $85,796,688. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.