Cowa LLC Has $2.06 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cowa LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,604 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.1% of Cowa LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Cowa LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG lifted its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $411.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $353.35 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $420.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 24.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The trade was 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 accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.