Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199,959 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,958 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.1% of Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $86,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $424.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $428.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $371.19 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

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

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $511.62.

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.