Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Heritage Wealth Partners LLC

Heritage Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,852 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 437 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.5% of Heritage Wealth Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Heritage Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 12,620 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,430,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in Microsoft by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 695,535 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $299,289,000 after buying an additional 73,723 shares in the last quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Microsoft by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 3,426 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. TL Private Wealth increased its position in Microsoft by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. TL Private Wealth now owns 1,672 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the third quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 32,142 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,831,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4 %

Microsoft stock opened at $418.79 on Tuesday. 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 1-year low of $362.90 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $421.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $426.35. The company has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 209,431 shares of company stock valued at $85,796,688. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer downgraded Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

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.