Cornerstone Advisors LLC Sells 300 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 338,800 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.1% of Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $151,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $75,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were 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 directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of 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-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $410.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.77 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $420.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.62.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.