Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,344 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,944 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.7% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $27,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wynn Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 12,118 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,214,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 8,936 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,706,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 899.6% in the 3rd quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,757 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 6,981 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Microsoft by 45.7% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 278,392 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $119,722,000 after purchasing an additional 87,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15.6% during the third quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,704 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $422.99 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $362.90 and a 1-year high of $468.35. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $421.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.39.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 leadership 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 dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 209,431 shares of company stock valued at $85,796,688. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

About Microsoft

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.