Keeler Thomas Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Keeler Thomas Management LLC lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,980 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 286 shares during the quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,920,047,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at $5,587,119,000. TCI Fund Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,000,376,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 77.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,281,925 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,642,931,000 after purchasing an additional 2,744,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4 %

Microsoft stock opened at $433.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53, 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $420.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $424.50.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.74%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.94.

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.