Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s Largest Position

Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,832 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 406 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 7.1% of Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $38,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Bayesian Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,238,000 after purchasing an additional 18,200 shares in the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,767 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,307,487 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $550,086,000 after acquiring an additional 5,253 shares in the last quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 296.7% in the 1st quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,538,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

Microsoft stock opened at $416.06 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $314.90 and a twelve month high of $468.35. 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 cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $418.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.03.

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

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. 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 payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

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.