Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Truepoint Inc.

Truepoint Inc. cut its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,125 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 406 shares during the quarter. Truepoint Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the business’s stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $418.16 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $324.39 and a 52 week 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $419.66 and a 200-day moving average of $424.54.

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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

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

Microsoft Company 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.