Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC

Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,747 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.5% of Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rebalance LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA lifted its position 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 worth $2,691,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management grew 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $415.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $422.54 and a 200-day moving average of $426.13. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $362.90 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.75%.

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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 7.11 % 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 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company 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.