Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Paragon Capital Management LLC

Paragon Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,448 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 492 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 10.1% of Paragon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Paragon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $415.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $384.81 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $429.08 and its 200 day moving average is $426.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $511.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company 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.