Great Point Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Great Point Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,501 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.3% of Great Point Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Great Point Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter valued at $80,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $416.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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 company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $314.90 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $418.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $425.03.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.74%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, 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 this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. 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 valued at $77,916,485 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.94.

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.