Sowell Financial Services LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sowell Financial Services LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,686 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 12,504 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 2.8% of Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $60,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 113,168 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $47,612,000 after purchasing an additional 43,327 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.7% during the first quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 21,363 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,988,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the first quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 183,111 shares of the software giant's stock worth $77,038,000 after acquiring an additional 5,380 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 44.9% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the software giant's stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.9 %

Microsoft stock traded down $3.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $414.15. 6,805,784 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,467,070. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.11, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $362.90 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $422.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $426.21.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. Microsoft's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. This represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 7.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 197,829 shares of company stock worth $80,966,837 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $503.03.

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.