Financial Enhancement Group LLC Trims Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Financial Enhancement Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,759 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 238 shares during the period. Financial Enhancement Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Bellevue Group AG raised 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter worth about $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $416.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current 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 has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $419.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.54.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,843,807.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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.

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.