Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Legacy CG LLC

Legacy CG LLC lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,977 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.5% of Legacy CG LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Legacy CG LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 634,238,715 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $147,714,197,000 after buying an additional 6,129,708 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 295,509,547 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,824,173,000 after buying an additional 1,951,554 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 200,523,373 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,810,889,000 after buying an additional 1,537,712 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 195,859,819 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $50,302,677,000 after buying an additional 556,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 112,158.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $377.44 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $336.96 and its 200-day moving average is $332.47. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $219.35 and a 12 month high of $378.87. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors 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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 25th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Redburn Partners decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.06.

About Microsoft

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.