Wagner Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,361 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wagner Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,587 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,361 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.0% of Wagner Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Wagner Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Stonekeep Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.5% in the third quarter. Stonekeep Investments LLC now owns 5,701 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,453,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its position in Microsoft by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 1,381,517 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $594,467,000 after buying an additional 49,149 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 16,915 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.0% in the third quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 8,006 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,445,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. Finally, JBR Co Financial Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.0% during the third quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 3,168 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $423.46 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $420.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $426.55. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $362.90 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. 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, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 7.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 209,431 shares of company stock valued at $85,796,688 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.