Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,463 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 270 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.0% of Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 10.1% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $511.62.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $418.95 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $428.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $427.23. The stock 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $380.38 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. 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 firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, 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 three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.