Kanawha Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 218,222 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,913 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 7.5% of Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $82,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 89.0% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $87,000. Family CFO Inc lifted its stake in Microsoft by 13.6% during the third quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 647.8% during the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $146,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $410.54 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $306.26 and a 52-week high of $430.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $413.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $392.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price objective (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

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.