Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Lessened by HF Advisory Group LLC

HF Advisory Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,799 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,210 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.4% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Microsoft from $637.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $631.03.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $483.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $500.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $502.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.89%.

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.