Axim Planning & Wealth Has $1.15 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Axim Planning & Wealth trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,572 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.4% of Axim Planning & Wealth’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Axim Planning & Wealth’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st 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. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $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 buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth about $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1 %

MSFT opened at $416.06 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $418.32 and a 200-day moving average of $425.03. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $314.90 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership 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.