Exchange Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,429 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,733 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,429 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 5.3% of Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. KG&L Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% during the second quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 19,970 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,922,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the second quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 39,743 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 10,010 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,474,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,847,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 159.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 121,617 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $54,357,000 after purchasing an additional 74,751 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $435.27 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $420.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.33. 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 market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.