Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 295,166 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,302 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 8.3% of Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $131,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 19.1% during the second quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 17,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 170,283 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,108,000 after purchasing an additional 5,875 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,315 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,163,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. MRA Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 17,182 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,679,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Bowie Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bowie Capital Management LLC now owns 255,940 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $114,392,000 after purchasing an additional 53,758 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were 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 owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $424.60 on Thursday. 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 market cap of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $420.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.56. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $326.94 and a 12 month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.58.

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.