Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Blue Chip Partners LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,353 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,230 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.0% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $43,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,074 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837 shares during the last quarter. Insight Holdings Group LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Insight Holdings Group LLC now owns 162,010 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $60,922,000 after acquiring an additional 38,610 shares during the last quarter. Wilson & Boucher Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wilson & Boucher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,528 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,207,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Unconventional Investor LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 24,795 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,324,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $416.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $314.90 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $418.32 and a 200 day moving average of $425.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.94.

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.