Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Manchester Financial Inc.

Manchester Financial Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 39.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,431 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,533 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.2% of Manchester Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Manchester Financial Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rebalance LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,455,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.90.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.9 %

MSFT stock opened at $439.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $366.50 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $427.34 and its 200-day moving average is $428.58.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors 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 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

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.