Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Bennett Associates Wealth Management

Bennett Associates Wealth Management cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,749 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 303 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 0.7% of Bennett Associates Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Bennett Associates Wealth Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $870,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.0%

MSFT stock opened at $542.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $512.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $484.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Mizuho set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $682.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $625.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $626.58.

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.