LongView Wealth Management Cuts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

LongView Wealth Management trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,265 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 217 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.9% of LongView Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. LongView Wealth Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,920,047,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after buying an additional 15,701,937 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth about $5,587,119,000. TCI Fund Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,000,376,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Microsoft by 77.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,281,925 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,642,931,000 after acquiring an additional 2,744,900 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $435.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $420.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $424.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm 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%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.