Solstein Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Solstein Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,581 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 360 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 5.9% of Solstein Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Solstein Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $420.69 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $418.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $425.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $311.21 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. 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 ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.