BetterWealth LLC Sells 2,274 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

BetterWealth LLC cut its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,839 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,274 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 0.4% of BetterWealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. BetterWealth LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant's stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $508.46.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $0.36 on Thursday, reaching $437.03. 21,883,230 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,589,182. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $426.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $428.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $366.50 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 27.39%.

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.