Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 8th, 2023

Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,130 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 44 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Affiance Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Affiance Financial LLC now owns 10,362 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,988,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,898 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Forbes Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Forbes Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,845 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Rede Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Rede Wealth LLC now owns 9,653 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verus Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 4,216 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,288,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $329.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $332.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $309.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $213.43 and a 52-week high of $366.78. The company has a market cap of $2.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Microsoft from $340.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and set a $232.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $335.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.68.

View Our Latest Analysis on MSFT

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.