Novare Capital Management LLC Sells 8,072 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Novare Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,419 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 8,072 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.7% of Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $43,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its position in Microsoft by 157.0% during the 1st quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lifted its position in Microsoft by 57.5% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $369.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $219.35 and a 12 month high of $370.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $332.31 and a 200-day moving average of $329.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase 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 yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Fundamental Research set a $298.10 price target on Microsoft and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $384.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. 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.