Connolly Sarah T. Cuts Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Connolly Sarah T. decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,928 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 7.4% of Connolly Sarah T.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Connolly Sarah T.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 31.6% in the second quarter. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,613 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 19.6% in the second quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,509 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% in the second quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 195,845 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $66,693,000 after acquiring an additional 5,618 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 16.5% in the second quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 9.4% in the second quarter. Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $352.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.88. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $213.43 and a 12 month high of $366.78. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $328.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $326.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Fundamental Research set a $298.10 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Bank of America upped 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. Redburn Partners decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $384.34.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.