Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by LCM Capital Management Inc

LCM Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,528 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 5.1% of LCM Capital Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. LCM Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,567,258,000 after buying an additional 38,422,466 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,767,000 after acquiring an additional 97,075 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Microsoft by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,091,789 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,768,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563,533 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,587,576,000 after purchasing an additional 45,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,890,530,000 after purchasing an additional 49,288 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $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 a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $424.83 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $428.90 and a 200 day moving average of $428.85. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $366.50 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.