Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Raised by Terra Nova Asset Management LLC

Terra Nova Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,515 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.0% of Terra Nova Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its position in Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 241.4% in the second quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.36.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $442.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $421.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $426.89. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $364.13 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.32, for a total value of $874,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 51,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,675,916.64. This trade represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 98,578 shares of company stock worth $40,553,696. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.