Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,488 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 2.7% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.94.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $428.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $419.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.99. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.