William Allan Corp Sells 218 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

William Allan Corp lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,582 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 218 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.5% of William Allan Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. William Allan Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 57.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $369.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $332.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $329.43. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.88. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $219.35 and a 52-week high of $370.10.

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. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.13 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.33%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related 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 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 $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the business’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 value of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Redburn Partners reduced their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 11th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. Guggenheim upgraded Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 25th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.