Oldfather Financial Services LLC Boosts Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Oldfather Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,473 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 117 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 0.5% of Oldfather Financial Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Oldfather Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 355,500 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $133,682,000 after purchasing an additional 10,954 shares in the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 9,962 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,746,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,926,000. Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,398 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,047,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC now owns 37,926 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,262,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $428.02 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $419.69 and its 200 day moving average is $424.76. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

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

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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign 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.