Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.'s 2nd Largest Position

GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 90.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,311 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 187,574 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 6.0% of GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 113,168 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,612,000 after purchasing an additional 43,327 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 35,888 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.8% during the first quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,952 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.5% in the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 228,369 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $96,079,000 after buying an additional 14,027 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

Microsoft stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $436.60. The stock had a trading volume of 54,224,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,730,301. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $366.50 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $427.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $428.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $508.46.

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.