TFG Advisers LLC Trims Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

TFG Advisers LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,928 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 697 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 5.4% of TFG Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. TFG Advisers LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its position in Microsoft by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,238,000 after purchasing an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,767 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,307,487 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $550,086,000 after buying an additional 5,253 shares during the period. True Link Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 296.7% during the first quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,538,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.5 %

MSFT opened at $430.30 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $311.21 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.26, 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 current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $419.26 and its 200 day moving average is $425.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.