Gries Financial LLC Sells 8,543 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Gries Financial LLC reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,683 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 8,543 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.8% of Gries Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Microsoft by 169.2% during 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 during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during 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 period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during 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 period. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3 %

Microsoft stock opened at $418.16 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $324.39 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $419.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Argus raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.68.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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