Meyer Handelman Co. Reduces Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Meyer Handelman Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 479,355 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,153 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 7.0% of Meyer Handelman Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $202,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.48, for a total value of $423,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 56,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,931,278.28. This trade represents a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $404.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $424.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $423.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

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.