Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Arjuna Capital's 2nd Largest Position

Arjuna Capital lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,387 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 7.8% of Arjuna Capital's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Arjuna Capital's holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 7.6% during the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $113,399,000 after buying an additional 18,544 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $882,816,000 after buying an additional 31,401 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant's stock worth $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $32,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $4.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $429.03. The stock had a trading volume of 26,146,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,227,436. 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 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The business's 50 day moving average price is $429.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $426.37. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen cut 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $512.93.

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.