R.H. Dinel Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 900 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

R.H. Dinel Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,225 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 14.4% of R.H. Dinel Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. R.H. Dinel Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Magnus Financial Group LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 29,987 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,639,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 393,473 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $165,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the period. LifeGuide Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 54.5% in the 4th quarter. LifeGuide Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 10,839 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,569,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,964 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,464,000 after buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $396.89 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $381.00 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $417.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $422.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

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.