Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is First Dallas Securities Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

First Dallas Securities Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,381 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 52 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.7% of First Dallas Securities Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,000 shares of company stock worth $14,333,540 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $411.44 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $431.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $423.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

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.