Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s Largest Position

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,723 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.2% of Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This represents a 4.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 183,431 shares of company stock worth $74,956,968 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $414.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $422.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $426.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $362.90 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 24.75%.

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.