Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Somerset Group LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Somerset Group LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,299 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 6.1% of Somerset Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Somerset Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 13,442 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 12,727 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,355,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,849 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,497,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349 shares during the period. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. now owns 17,279 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the first quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,769 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $34,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at $61,843,807.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $411.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $420.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $424.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $353.35 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

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

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.75%.

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.