Granite Group Advisors LLC Sells 202 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Granite Group Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,166 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 5.1% of Granite Group Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Granite Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keystone Financial Services boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 2,436 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.3% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 13,817 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,176,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the second quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 82,588 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,913,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 295,313 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $131,990,000 after purchasing an additional 6,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Security Financial Services INC. increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.9% in the second quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 5,634 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,518,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’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 owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. 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 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $433.51 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $468.35. 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 cap of $3.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $420.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.50.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans 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 given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

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.