Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is TD Asset Management Inc’s Largest Position

TD Asset Management Inc cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,959,193 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 133,176 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 4.2% of TD Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. TD Asset Management Inc owned 0.13% of Microsoft worth $4,451,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Argus upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $418.16 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $324.39 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $419.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.