Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lowered by Delta Financial Advisors LLC

Delta Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,424 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 407 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 4.8% of Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the second quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 9,930 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,438,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc boosted its stake in Microsoft by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 9,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,282,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,893,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the second quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 47,998 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $21,453,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $511.62.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 three months, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $426.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $384.81 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $429.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $426.72. 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 – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm’s 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. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft Profile

(Free Report)

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.