Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s 3rd Largest Position

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,500,227 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 70,136 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.1% of JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $670,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the second quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 935 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,558 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,825,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 31,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,141,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Lokken Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 13,229 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,912,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Finally, Beck Bode LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 39,951 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,856,000 after purchasing an additional 10,847 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $408.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $353.35 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $420.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.74. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a positive change 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 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

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.