Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Increased by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,973 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 982 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $43,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Rebalance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Flagship Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,309,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $425.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $420.74 and a 200 day moving average of $424.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $360.36 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.