AJ Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

AJ Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,617 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,037 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 0.6% of AJ Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. AJ Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd 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 period. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG grew its holdings in Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at $61,843,807.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business’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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $417.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company 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 for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid 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 yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.