Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Berry Wealth Group LP

Berry Wealth Group LP lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,531 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 7.0% of Berry Wealth Group LP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Berry Wealth Group LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Interchange Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 162.6% in the 2nd quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,244 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,048,000 after acquiring an additional 12,534 shares in the last quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the second quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 90,785 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $38,938,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Avaii Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.6% during the second quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,389,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,437 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,134,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 108,048 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $48,292,000 after acquiring an additional 16,318 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $416.32 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $417.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $324.39 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.47.

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.