Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Stratos Investment Management LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Stratos Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,677 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,283 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.2% of Stratos Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $31,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $882,816,000 after purchasing an additional 31,401 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 55.9% in the second quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.9% during the third quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 106,292 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $45,737,000 after acquiring an additional 10,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walter Public Investments Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 7.2% during the third quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 77,339 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $33,279,000 after acquiring an additional 5,174 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $446.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $364.13 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $421.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $427.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $504.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,700 shares of company stock worth $16,265,367 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.