Exchange Capital Management Inc. Has $32.51 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 72,733 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,429 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 5.3% of Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KG&L Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 19,970 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,922,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 39,743 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,763,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.6% in the second quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 10,010 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,474,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $1,847,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 159.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 121,617 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $54,357,000 after acquiring an additional 74,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $435.27 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $420.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Company 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.