Beacon Capital Management LLC Has $4.08 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,117 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 0.8% of Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Bellevue Group AG increased 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 buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $428.02 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $419.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.76. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,843,807.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company 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.