Mount Lucas Management LP Takes Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Mount Lucas Management LP bought a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 672 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,972 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,563,000 after buying 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 acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 28,553 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $12,762,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959 shares in the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 19.1% in the second quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 17,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 170,283 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,108,000 after acquiring an additional 5,875 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Argus lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $424.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $326.94 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $420.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $424.56.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 board 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.