Nadler Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Nadler Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,554 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.6% of Nadler Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Nadler Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG increased its holdings in Microsoft by 47.5% in 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 last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $86,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a 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 company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $435.27 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $420.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $424.18.

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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. 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. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.