Merriman Wealth Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Merriman Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,229 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,983 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.3% of Merriman Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Merriman Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 112,158.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,017,948,000 after purchasing an additional 150,053,637 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 35,465.9% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $66,852,000 after acquiring an additional 20,553,188 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Microsoft by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,638,815,000 after acquiring an additional 14,652,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 98.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,218,570 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,649,717,000 after acquiring an additional 7,534,774 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Microsoft from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $335.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.68.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total value of $418,462.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 874 shares in the company, valued at $292,588.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $328.41 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $333.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $213.43 and a 12-month high of $366.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The business had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

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.