Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Cut by Scharf Investments LLC

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 cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 417,007 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 7,888 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.8% of Scharf Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Scharf Investments LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $156,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $1,375,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT traded down $6.74 on Tuesday, hitting $528.90. 12,238,118 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,385,447. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $491.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $435.76. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.