Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Trimmed by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,365,228 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 66,895 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.6% of Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,738,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 10.1% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $415.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $432.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $385.58 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 34.38%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

About Microsoft

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.