Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC Decreases Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,311 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 0.7% of Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 10.1% in 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 period. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 241.4% in the second quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $423.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $428.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $428.35. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $366.50 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.90.

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.