Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Buys 465,464 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 231.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 666,372 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 465,464 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.2% of Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $297,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter valued at $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $420.69 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $418.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $425.13. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $311.21 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target 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. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.