Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lowered by Legacy Bridge LLC

Legacy Bridge LLC trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,632 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.3% of Legacy Bridge LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Legacy Bridge LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $300,000. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,972 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,563,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Morton Community Bank increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 14,710 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,575,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 11.6% in the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 28,553 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $12,762,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 19.1% during the second quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 17,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.58.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.7 %

Microsoft stock opened at $424.60 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $326.94 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $420.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $424.56. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

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

About Microsoft

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.