Warther Private Wealth LLC Sells 7,407 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Warther Private Wealth LLC reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,865 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,407 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.2% of Warther Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Warther Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 53,689 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,102,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.9% during the third quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 12.7% during the third quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,306 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,435,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 7.6% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 183,153 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $78,810,000 after buying an additional 12,870 shares during the period. Finally, Freedom Day Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 12.4% in the third quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 18,769 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,076,000 after buying an additional 2,068 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $436.60 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $427.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $428.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $366.50 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid 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 payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $508.46.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.