Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Grows Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,520 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 864 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.4% of Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter worth $5,587,119,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Microsoft by 77.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,281,925 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,642,931,000 after buying an additional 2,744,900 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at $989,814,000. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth about $846,072,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $419.14 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $324.39 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $418.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during 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%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft declared 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 repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. 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 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average 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.