Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lessened by YHB Investment Advisors Inc.

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,706 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 6,849 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 5.3% of YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $63,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 12,985 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,587,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,567,258,000 after acquiring an additional 38,422,466 shares in the last quarter. Axecap Investments LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,045,000. McAdam LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 16,273 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $508.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.8 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $437.39 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $366.50 and a one year high of $468.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $426.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $428.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. 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 for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.