Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Cut by LGT Capital Partners LTD.

LGT Capital Partners LTD. reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 626,828 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 74,008 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 9.4% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $269,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $882,816,000 after purchasing an additional 31,401 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $32,830,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.6 %

MSFT opened at $444.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.30 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 2.40 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $431.05 and its 200-day moving average is $425.82. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $509.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.66.

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.