Gunderson Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Gunderson Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,988 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 5.3% of Gunderson Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Gunderson Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Beacon Wealthcare LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 12.1% in the third quarter. Beacon Wealthcare LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Sinecera Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sinecera Capital LLC now owns 617 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 15,352 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,606,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the period. Hall Laurie J Trustee raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.3% in the third quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 62,146 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $26,741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the third quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,945 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,570,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 183,431 shares of company stock valued at $74,956,968. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $417.00 on Monday. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $362.90 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $421.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $426.30. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

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.