Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by STF Management LP

STF Management LP trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,830 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,938 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 8.1% of STF Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. STF Management LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock worth $113,399,000 after buying an additional 18,544 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in 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 buying an additional 31,401 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the third 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. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.24.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT traded down $27.50 on Thursday, hitting $414.83. 47,641,351 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,904,332. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $385.58 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $432.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $424.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.