Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Cut by Yacktman Asset Management LP

Yacktman Asset Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,532,809 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 56,481 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 6.4% of Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $685,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bath Savings Trust Co grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 92,790 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,039,000 after buying an additional 954 shares during the period. jvl associates llc grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 3,856 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,622,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the period. Emprise Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth about $8,006,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,749 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,157,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Great Waters Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Great Waters Wealth Management now owns 4,758 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $418.16 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $419.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.51. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $324.39 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.68.

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.