Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Boosted by Jeppson Wealth Management LLC

Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,074 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.4% of Jeppson Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rebalance LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Doheny Asset Management CA grew its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3 %

MSFT stock opened at $418.16 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $419.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.54. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $324.39 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (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 business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Argus boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. DA Davidson lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.68.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. 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.