GYL Financial Synergies LLC Has $62.66 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

GYL Financial Synergies LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 140,198 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.8% of GYL Financial Synergies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. GYL Financial Synergies LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $62,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% during 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 during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $429.17 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $420.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.67.

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

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. New Street Research started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. Argus raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.94.

Microsoft 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.