Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,107 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,269 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.0% of Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Syverson Strege & Co grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 157.0% in the 1st quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 39.0% in the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 303 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $97,000. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $320.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Redburn Partners dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $384.34.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $369.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $332.31 and a 200 day moving average of $329.43. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $219.35 and a 12 month high of $370.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The firm 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 company posted $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. 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%.

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.