46,839 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Purchased by GPM Growth Investors Inc.

GPM Growth Investors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 46,839 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $20,935,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 8.9% of GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Bellevue Group AG increased its position in 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 acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was 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 ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3 %

MSFT stock opened at $418.16 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $419.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.49. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $324.39 and a one year high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho lifted their price objective 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.68.

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.