Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Reduced by Bellecapital International Ltd.

Bellecapital International Ltd. reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,516 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 5.5% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.9 %

Microsoft stock opened at $435.15 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $468.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $422.31 and its 200 day moving average is $423.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.