Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 40,367 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,844 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 6.8% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $432.53 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $334.69 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $421.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.70. The company has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $502.97.

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.