Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Increased by Courier Capital LLC

Courier Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,588 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 770 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.9% of Courier Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. 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. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4 %

Microsoft stock opened at $433.51 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $420.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.50. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53, a PEG 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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 the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. 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. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Argus lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.94.

Microsoft Company 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.