Manchester Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Manchester Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,246 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 0.7% of Manchester Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Manchester Financial Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,396,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 10,761 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,665,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Planning Center Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 24.4% during the second quarter. Planning Center Inc. now owns 4,849 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its stake in Microsoft by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 1,518,749 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $437,855,000 after purchasing an additional 94,563 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 19,877 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,769,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Microsoft from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $371.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Microsoft from $411.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $384.34.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $363.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $328.22. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $219.35 and a one year high of $366.78.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The business had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.33%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.