Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Index Fund Advisors Inc.

Index Fund Advisors Inc. raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,292 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 0.2% of Index Fund Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Index Fund Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% during the first quarter. McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. now owns 10,460 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,401,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Waller Financial Planning Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Waller Financial Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,290 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.1% in the first quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 38,428 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,168,000 after purchasing an additional 2,535 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter worth about $6,986,000. Finally, Advance Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 2.2% during the first quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,614 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,045,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $416.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $324.39 and a 12 month 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $419.42 and a 200-day moving average of $424.54.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at $61,843,807.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer cut Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Argus lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.68.

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.