Connable Office Inc. Has $15.25 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Connable Office Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,130 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,541 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.6% of Connable Office Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 13.2% during the first quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 102,045 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,933,000 after purchasing an additional 11,875 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 642,356 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $270,252,000 after buying an additional 12,092 shares in the last quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 18,456 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,765,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. ONE Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter worth $222,000. Finally, O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the first quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 2,214 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $424.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $420.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.56. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $326.94 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.58.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.