Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) CMO Takeshi Numoto Sells 1,000 Shares of Stock

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.48, for a total value of $423,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 56,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,931,278.28. This trade represents a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, December 2nd, Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total value of $1,077,175.00.
• On Friday, November 22nd, Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00.
• On Tuesday, September 10th, Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $430.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $420.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $426.55. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $362.90 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.56, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.