Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 989,156 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,371 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.1% of Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $442,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 38,895.7% in the 1st quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC now owns 146,624 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $61,688,000 after acquiring an additional 146,248 shares during the last quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc increased its stake in Microsoft by 5.8% in the first quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 22,123 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.9% during the first quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 7,885 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,317,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Shira Ridge Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Shira Ridge Wealth Management now owns 7,337 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,087,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 8,028 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,377,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders 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 Down 1.1 %

Microsoft stock opened at $418.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $362.90 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $421.09 and its 200-day moving average is $425.19. The company has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

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

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.