Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Abacus Planning Group Inc.

Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,549 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.6% of Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rebalance LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th 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 raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Doheny Asset Management CA lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $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 second 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.47.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $415.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $417.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $424.74. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $324.39 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.