Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A.

Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 22.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,669 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 10,840 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 7.5% of Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake 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 worth $882,816,000 after purchasing an additional 31,401 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA grew its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 55.9% in the 2nd quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 430,730 shares of the software giant's stock worth $192,515,000 after acquiring an additional 8,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 3.4% in the second quarter. Quest Investment Management LLC now owns 156,258 shares of the software giant's stock worth $69,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,176 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $414.17 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $422.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $426.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $362.90 and a 1-year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 24.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents 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, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 183,431 shares of company stock valued at $74,956,968. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $503.03.

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.