Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. Sells 258 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,377 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 258 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.3% of Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.3% during the third quarter. Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc. now owns 21,670 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,326,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 12,962 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,433,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 436,564 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $187,853,000 after acquiring an additional 49,544 shares in the last quarter. Presidio Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Presidio Capital Management LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Bensler LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 98,849 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,535,000 after buying an additional 2,543 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.95 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $428.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $427.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $380.38 and a 12 month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during 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%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.62.

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.