Generate Investment Management Ltd Sells 17,461 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Generate Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,264 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 17,461 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.8% of Generate Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $71,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,198 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares during the period. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $891,000. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 121,096 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $52,108,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $2,645,000. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,592,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.36.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft 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 $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $443.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $364.13 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $421.78 and a 200-day moving average of $427.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Company 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.