Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Trimmed by Fulcrum Capital LLC

Fulcrum Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 73,262 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 422 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.9% of Fulcrum Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Fulcrum Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $31,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,767,000 after buying an additional 97,075 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Microsoft by 6.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,091,789 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,768,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,533 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,587,576,000 after purchasing an additional 45,220 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,890,530,000 after purchasing an additional 49,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,462,919 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,822,679,000 after buying an additional 46,410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $508.46.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $437.39 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $366.50 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $426.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $428.20. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company 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.