Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Legacy Advisors LLC

Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,310 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,794 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.9% of Legacy Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Legacy Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG lifted its position in Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. 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 research note on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

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 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 $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4 %

MSFT opened at $415.84 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $417.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.74. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $324.39 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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 return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management 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.