Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC Has $287,000 Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC cut its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 47.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 667 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 595 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 0.2% of Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $412.37 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $432.37 and its 200-day moving average is $424.21. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Microsoft Company 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.