Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Cut by Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 50.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $94,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.3% during the second quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,156 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,327,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.6% during the second quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,043 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,322,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd raised its holdings in Microsoft by 97.3% during the second quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 4,800 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,145,000 after buying an additional 2,367 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.8% in the second quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 303,566 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $135,679,000 after buying an additional 14,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,550 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $419.14 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $324.39 and a 52-week high of $468.35. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $418.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a share 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 reacquire 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. 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 yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 28.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.47.

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.