Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Stone Point Wealth LLC’s Largest Position

Stone Point Wealth LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,956 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 8.6% of Stone Point Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Stone Point Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $882,816,000 after purchasing an additional 31,401 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $32,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $418.95 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $428.83 and a 200-day moving average of $427.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $380.38 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $511.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.