Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,010 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.2% of Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during 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 last quarter. Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $435.27 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.69, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $420.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. New Street Research began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last three months. Company 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.