Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Has $23.54 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,673 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.4% of Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rebalance LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,609,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Doheny Asset Management CA lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $414.71 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $323.18 and a 1-year high of $468.35. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $417.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $424.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during 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%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s 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 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 through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.