Verus Financial Partners Inc. Has $1.41 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Verus Financial Partners Inc. cut its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,015 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 157.0% during the first quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 57.5% during the third quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 411 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $97,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $352.80 on Monday. 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 $2.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $328.84 and a 200-day moving average of $326.68.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $345.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, July 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $384.34.

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.