Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 939,109 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,644 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 7.8% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $404,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant's stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.8% in the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,309,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,455,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $4.45 on Monday, reaching $429.03. 26,146,013 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,227,436. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company's 50 day moving average is $429.32 and its 200-day moving average is $426.14. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $385.58 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $512.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.