Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Auxier Asset Management’s Largest Position

Auxier Asset Management trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,854 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,199 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 7.8% of Auxier Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $49,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,272 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,425,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 5.5% in the first quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,742 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,928,000 after acquiring an additional 2,579 shares in the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 20.7% during the first quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 5,904 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.5% during the first quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 12,997 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,468,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deltec Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% in the first quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 71,127 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $425.43 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $360.36 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $420.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 business posted $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.95 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft 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.