Ninepoint Partners LP Increases Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ninepoint Partners LP lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,429 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 0.4% of Ninepoint Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Ninepoint Partners LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $423.03 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $362.90 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.90, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $421.11 and a 200-day moving average of $425.32.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 197,829 shares of company stock valued at $80,966,837 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.