Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Callan Family Office LLC

Callan Family Office LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 195.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,119 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,323 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.5% of Callan Family Office LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Callan Family Office LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 88,718 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $33,362,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,143,000. Alpha Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 31,381 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,800,000 after acquiring an additional 3,703 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,595,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $420.69 on Wednesday. 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 $3.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $418.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $425.13. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $311.21 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors 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 reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now 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 through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Argus upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.