GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Reduces Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 88,737 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,103 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.4% of GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $38,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 10.1% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $446.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $430.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $425.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $385.58 and a 12 month high of $468.35. 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 announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $509.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.66.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety 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.

About Microsoft

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.