Stone Point Wealth LLC Cuts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Stone Point Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,956 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 8.6% of Stone Point Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Stone Point Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.8% during the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in Microsoft by 0.8% in the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $418.95 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $380.38 and a 12-month 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $428.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $427.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.62.

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.