Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Nadler Financial Group Inc.

Nadler Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,522 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.4% of Nadler Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Nadler Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $421.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $428.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $428.60. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $366.50 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 company posted $2.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.90.

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.