Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by RFG Advisory LLC

RFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,643 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 0.7% of RFG Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $882,816,000 after buying an additional 31,401 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 55.9% in the second quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its stake in Microsoft by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 106,292 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $45,737,000 after purchasing an additional 10,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 430,730 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $192,515,000 after purchasing an additional 8,290 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 10.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,578 shares of company stock valued at $24,450,096. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2 %

Microsoft stock opened at $443.57 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.90. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $421.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $427.00. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $364.13 and a twelve month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during 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%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.36.

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.