Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s Largest Position

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 140,044 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 9,022 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 6.5% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $62,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Harbor Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 55.9% in the second quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 296.7% during the 1st quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in Microsoft by 19.0% in the second quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 81,502 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,427,000 after acquiring an additional 12,994 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 12,521 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,268,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 15.8% during the first quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 35,610 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,982,000 after acquiring an additional 4,861 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $428.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $326.94 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $420.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.56.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. The business’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 firm earned $2.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

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. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.74%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.94.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.