Sowell Financial Services LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sowell Financial Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 140,686 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 12,504 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.8% of Sowell Financial Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $60,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,894 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,421,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC now owns 5,179 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,229,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the third quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 85,909 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,967,000 after buying an additional 3,395 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.6% during the third quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 16,784 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,222,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% during the third quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,112 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The trade was a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 197,829 shares of company stock worth $80,966,837 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $417.79 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $422.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $426.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $362.90 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

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.