Northwest Bancshares Inc. Sells 1,749 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 24th, 2023

Northwest Bancshares Inc. cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,225 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,749 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.9% of Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the second quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,396,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 10,761 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,665,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Planning Center Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Planning Center Inc. now owns 4,849 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,651,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 1,518,749 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $437,855,000 after buying an additional 94,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 868,980 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $295,161,000 after purchasing an additional 8,762 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $329.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $325.61 and a 200 day moving average of $323.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $2.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $213.43 and a 12-month high of $366.78.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Argus increased their price objective on Microsoft from $371.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.11.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

(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.