Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,173,215 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 48,581 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.7% of Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $524,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer downgraded Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at $61,843,807.85. This represents a 10.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 197,829 shares of company stock valued at $80,966,837 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $415.00 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $422.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $425.44. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $362.90 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

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.