Takeshi Numoto Sells 2,500 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total transaction of $1,077,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 53,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,203,211.24. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Takeshi Numoto also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, November 27th, Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.48, for a total value of $423,480.00.
• On Friday, November 22nd, Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00.
• On Tuesday, September 10th, Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $431.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $362.90 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $420.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.70.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Oppenheimer downgraded Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.