Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Emfo LLC’s 10th Largest Position

Emfo LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,985 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.0% of Emfo LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Emfo LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Rebalance LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Doheny Asset Management CA grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,691,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $416.54 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $314.00 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $418.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $425.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.94.

Microsoft 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.