Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Sells 1,364 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 68,199 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,364 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.3% of Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,587,119,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 47,196.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 4,834,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,160,850,000 after buying an additional 4,824,436 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $281,035,506,000 after buying an additional 3,078,099 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 77.6% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,281,925 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,642,931,000 after acquiring an additional 2,744,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth about $846,072,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $415.49 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $422.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $426.13. 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 34.28, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The trade was a 4.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 197,829 shares of company stock worth $80,966,837. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.