Meyer Handelman Co. Has $206.76 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Meyer Handelman Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 480,508 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 16,082 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 7.0% of Meyer Handelman Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Meyer Handelman Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $206,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rebalance LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the second 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 period. Doheny Asset Management CA lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,691,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Flagship Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 209,431 shares of company stock valued at $85,796,688. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $422.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $362.90 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm's fifty day moving average is $421.07 and its 200 day moving average is $426.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Microsoft 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.