Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by EPIQ Capital Group LLC

EPIQ Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 123.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,797 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.8% of EPIQ Capital Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. EPIQ Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Arvest Trust Co. N A grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 189.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arvest Trust Co. N A now owns 33,869 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,138,000 after acquiring an additional 22,158 shares during the period. DHK Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $919,000. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 6,986 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Alpha Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 33.9% in the second quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 69,029 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $30,853,000 after buying an additional 16,782 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $410.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $420.69 and a 200 day moving average of $424.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.77 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share 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%. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

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.