Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Senator Investment Group LP

Senator Investment Group LP cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,000 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.7% of Senator Investment Group LP’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Senator Investment Group LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $55,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st 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 bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.47.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $416.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $324.39 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $419.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.59. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.03, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

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.