Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 253,061 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,862 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.0% of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $113,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG raised its holdings in Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $420.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $420.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $424.80. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $357.63 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.95 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors 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 issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

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.