Scharf Investments LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Scharf Investments LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 1.9%, now holding 417,007 shares valued at approximately $156.54 million, making it the 7th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Insider transactions included Judson Althoff selling 16,000 shares for $7.33 million, reflecting a 14.03% decrease in ownership, and Takeshi Numoto selling 3,000 shares for $1.39 million, indicating a 6.39% reduction in ownership.
• Equities analysts are optimistic about Microsoft, with multiple firms like Bank of America and TD Cowen raising their price targets and maintaining a "buy" rating as the average target price reaches $609.86.

Scharf Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 417,007 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 7,888 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.8% of Scharf Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Scharf Investments LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $156,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%

MSFT opened at $524.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company's 50 day moving average price is $489.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $434.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is 24.34%.

Microsoft 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.

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