Lyell Wealth Management LP Buys 1,746 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Lyell Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,694 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,746 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.3% of Lyell Wealth Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Lyell Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $34,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $281,035,506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078,099 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,160,020,000 after buying an additional 842,884 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,587,576,000 after buying an additional 45,220 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,640,068 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,096,428,000 after acquiring an additional 360,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 15.6% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,931,721 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,019,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613,050 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $432.53 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $334.69 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 company has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $421.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.70.

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

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $502.97.

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.