Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Sells 1,070 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 135,594 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,070 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.1% of Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $60,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.8 %

MSFT opened at $438.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $421.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $423.89. The company has a market cap of $3.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.