Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Reduced by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 674,433 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 12,337 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.5% of Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $290,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was 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 approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade 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 valued at $17,383,892 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $429.03 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $429.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $426.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.93.

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.