First Command Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,135 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 0.1% of First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% during the first 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 period. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter worth about $80,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $420.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $418.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $425.13. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $311.21 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

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

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 $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.74%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.94.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Company 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.