Brickley Wealth Management Lowers Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Brickley Wealth Management lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 10.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,093 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.2% of Brickley Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Brickley Wealth Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 6,448 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $852,000. Fountainhead AM LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 5,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the period. Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,313,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 113,964 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,899,000 after buying an additional 9,529 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $435.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $420.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.33.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. TD Cowen increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

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.