Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Increased by Hemington Wealth Management

Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,900 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.1% of Hemington Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Hemington Wealth Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 37,612 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,144,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 3,027,214 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,138,354,000 after buying an additional 43,152 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,416,509 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,293,064,000 after acquiring an additional 104,263 shares in the last quarter. Ratio Wealth Group lifted its stake in Microsoft by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Ratio Wealth Group now owns 3,915 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,472,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,884,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $414.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $417.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.89. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $323.18 and a 1-year high of $468.35. 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 company has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.94.

Microsoft 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.