Callan Family Office LLC Increases Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Callan Family Office LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 195.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,119 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,323 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 1.5% of Callan Family Office LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Callan Family Office LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 88,718 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $33,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $1,143,000. Alpha Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $325,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 31,381 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,800,000 after acquiring an additional 3,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,595,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $420.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 2.30 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $418.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $425.13. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $311.21 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, New Street Research started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

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.