Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,257,869 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 88,102 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 5.6% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $768,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 112,158.6% in 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 buying an additional 150,053,637 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35,465.9% in the 1st 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. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 29,789.2% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,570,893 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,477,000 after acquiring an additional 16,515,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Microsoft by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,638,815,000 after purchasing an additional 14,652,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft 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 transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Fundamental Research set a $298.10 price objective on Microsoft and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. UBS Group raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $345.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. Guggenheim raised shares of Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $384.34.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $363.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $219.35 and a twelve month high of $366.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $330.83 and a 200-day moving average of $328.22.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

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.