Colonial River Investments LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Colonial River Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,495 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 10,732 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.5% of Colonial River Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Colonial River Investments LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Riverstone Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.5% during the third quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 12,468 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,365,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the third quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC now owns 8,110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,490,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,084 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,909,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Arrow Financial Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 58,505 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,175,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4 %

Microsoft stock opened at $415.67 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $384.81 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $429.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $426.72. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $511.62.

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.