Ninety One North America Inc. Sells 48,138 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ninety One North America Inc. cut its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 372,076 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 48,138 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 8.4% of Ninety One North America Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $166,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Monument Capital Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 31,264 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,756,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 19,980 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,513,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 143.5% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 384,058 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $144,421,000 after purchasing an additional 226,357 shares during the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gimbal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $1,399,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8 %

Microsoft stock opened at $435.27 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $420.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

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.