Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Reduced by Cryder Capital Partners LLP

Cryder Capital Partners LLP decreased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 536,617 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 258,655 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 15.0% of Cryder Capital Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Cryder Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $239,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 88,718 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $33,362,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,143,000. Alpha Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $325,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 31,381 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,595,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.94.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $420.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a PEG 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $418.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $425.13. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $311.21 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

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

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.74%.

About Microsoft

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.