Vicus Capital Sells 1,266 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Vicus Capital decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,658 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,266 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.7% of Vicus Capital’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $40,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. KG&L Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 19,970 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,922,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP grew its position in Microsoft by 3.0% in the second quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 39,743 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $17,763,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $1,847,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 74,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $435.27 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $420.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $424.33. 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 capitalization 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 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.72.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft 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.