Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Cut by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 322,799 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 11,247 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 4.4% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $109,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 157.0% in the 1st quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $83,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 411 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth $97,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the business’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 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the business’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 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. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $369.85 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $219.35 and a 1 year high of $376.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $336.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $331.59. The company has a market cap of $2.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.80, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 29.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Fundamental Research set a $298.10 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $371.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $398.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 20th. 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.11.

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.