Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,370 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.9% of Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. TSA Wealth Managment LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. TSA Wealth Managment LLC now owns 2,085 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 8,508 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,661,000 after buying an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. Vawter Financial Ltd. boosted its position in Microsoft by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vawter Financial Ltd. now owns 959 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Microsoft by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 989 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

Microsoft stock opened at $428.50 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $429.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $425.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.