Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. Sells 506 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,144 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 506 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.8% of Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 241.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3 %

Microsoft stock opened at $435.25 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $427.02 and a 200-day moving average of $428.51. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $366.50 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. Mizuho increased their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.90.

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.