Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Xcel Wealth Management LLC

Xcel Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,867 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 421 shares during the quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG lifted its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $433.51 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $420.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.50. The company has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 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 fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for 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 period last year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. 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 yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.94.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at $61,843,807.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $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.