Angeles Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 76,578 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.8% of Angeles Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Angeles Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 989,062 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $419,956,000 after buying an additional 66,922 shares during the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. raised its stake in Microsoft by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 42,503 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,289,000 after acquiring an additional 3,334 shares during the period. Latko Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $453,000. Prosperitas Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 13,637 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,868,000 after buying an additional 2,714 shares during the period. Finally, Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 34,655 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,912,000 after buying an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $423.35 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $366.50 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $428.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $428.38.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.90.

About Microsoft

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.