Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s Largest Position

Monarch Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,888 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 524 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 6.7% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 9,117 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,075,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Waypoint Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Waypoint Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,421 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 141,200 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $63,109,000 after purchasing an additional 55,516 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 14,946 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 59.6% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 27,323 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,212,000 after purchasing an additional 10,204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $428.02 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $419.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. DA Davidson lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft 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.