Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,489 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 920 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 11.5% of Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer cut Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4 %

MSFT opened at $412.37 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $432.37 and its 200-day moving average is $424.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

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.