Sarasin & Partners LLP Sells 172,016 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sarasin & Partners LLP lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 10.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,481,378 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 172,016 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.0% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $637,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 17.7% during the third quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 13,014 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in Microsoft by 34.4% during the third quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 44,752 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,257,000 after acquiring an additional 11,453 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 232,665 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $100,116,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the period. Trevian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $2,713,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 8.0% during the third quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,219 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $422.99 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $421.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $426.42. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $362.90 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 209,431 shares of company stock worth $85,796,688 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

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.