AMI Asset Management Corp Cuts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

AMI Asset Management Corp reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 279,782 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,300 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 6.7% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $125,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $428.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $309.45 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $419.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $424.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.94.

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.