Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Callahan Advisors LLC

Callahan Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 116,912 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 497 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 5.1% of Callahan Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Callahan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $43,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Financial Security Advisor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,255,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,497,000 after buying an additional 5,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after buying an additional 6,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 target price (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $402.25 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $414.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $389.01. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $303.40 and a 12-month high of $430.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

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.