Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is RPG Investment Advisory LLC’s 4th Largest Position

RPG Investment Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 60,024 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 488 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.0% of RPG Investment Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. RPG Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Doheny Asset Management CA lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.1% in the second quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 10,626 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,749,000 after purchasing an additional 4,229 shares during the period. Hutchinson Capital Management CA increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA now owns 71,919 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $32,144,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 10,929 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,622,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 9,557 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,272,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% in the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 138,693 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $61,989,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Argus upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.94.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $428.15 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $420.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.56. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $326.94 and a one year high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This 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 at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.