Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 207,885 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 5.5% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $92,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Rebalance LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $416.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $314.90 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $418.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $425.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. TD Cowen lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 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.