Maren Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Maren Capital LLC lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,634 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 0.1% of Maren Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Maren Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the third 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 last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $409.75 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $431.72 and a 200 day moving average of $423.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.