Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,346 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,921 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.4% of Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $87,000. Family CFO Inc grew its position in Microsoft by 13.6% in the third quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 647.8% in the 4th quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $146,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.2 %

MSFT stock opened at $406.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $303.40 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $413.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $390.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price target (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $452.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.