Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Trimmed by BTC Capital Management Inc.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 24th, 2023

BTC Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 6.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,562 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,048 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.0% of BTC Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Gleason Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 111.7% during the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 199 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 157.0% during the 1st quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $97,000. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $317.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $213.43 and a 1 year high of $366.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $330.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $315.53.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The firm had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 28.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $411.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Fundamental Research set a $298.10 price target on Microsoft and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $350.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 31st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $232.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.03.

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About Microsoft

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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.