Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Boosted by AMI Investment Management Inc.

AMI Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,199 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.1% of AMI Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. AMI Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 113,168 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,612,000 after buying an additional 43,327 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the first quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 21,363 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,988,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 3.0% during the first quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 183,111 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $77,038,000 after acquiring an additional 5,380 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 44.9% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $417.79 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $362.90 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $422.62 and its 200-day moving average is $426.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This represents a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 197,829 shares of company stock valued at $80,966,837. 0.03% of the stock is owned by 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.