Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,234 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.8% of Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its position in Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0 %

Microsoft stock opened at $429.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $420.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.67.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. As a group, 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.