David J Yvars Group Lowers Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

David J Yvars Group reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,693 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.8% of David J Yvars Group’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. David J Yvars Group’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Hendley & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. now owns 54,122 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $24,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2,297.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 16,783 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,668,000 after acquiring an additional 16,083 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 96,422 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,096,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the period. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 60,768 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $27,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $424.56 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $371.19 and a one year high of $468.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $428.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $427.61.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.62.

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.