Worth Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Worth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,219 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.0% of Worth Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Worth Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Microsoft Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $422.99 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $421.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $426.42. 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. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.90, a PEG ratio of 2.22 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’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 value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 7.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 209,431 shares of company stock valued at $85,796,688 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

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.