Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is &Partners’ 2nd Largest Position

&Partners increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 440.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 193,935 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 158,061 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.8% of &Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. &Partners’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $86,677,000 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 shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at $61,843,807.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $432.11 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $420.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average 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 the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for 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%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.