Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC Grows Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,602 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 161 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.1% of Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG increased its position 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 period. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $435.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $420.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.18.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

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.