Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lowered by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 256,221 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,064 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.6% of Simplicity Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $114,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bayesian Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 60.1% in the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,238,000 after purchasing an additional 18,200 shares in the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,767 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,307,487 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $550,086,000 after buying an additional 5,253 shares in the last quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 296.7% during the first quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after buying an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $9,538,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $417.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $432.34 and a 200 day moving average of $422.67. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.