Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 73,772 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,935 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 6.5% of Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,538,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 6,646 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 2,256 shares during the last quarter. O Dell Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. O Dell Group LLC now owns 6,255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $1,875,000. Finally, PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 10,352 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,892,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, 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 through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer downgraded Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.47.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $416.32 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $324.39 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $417.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.63.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

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.