Retirement Solution LLC Purchases 1,446 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Retirement Solution LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,683 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,446 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.6% of Retirement Solution LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Retirement Solution LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted 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 valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $428.02 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $419.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.