United Capital Management of KS Inc. Grows Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

United Capital Management of KS Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,661 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.7% of United Capital Management of KS Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. United Capital Management of KS Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cadinha & Co. LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 52,889 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,639,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,289,467 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $576,327,000 after acquiring an additional 25,119 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.6% in the second quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 18,549 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,500 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,526,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WP Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.4% in the second quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 16,266 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,270,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $415.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $417.79 and its 200 day moving average is $424.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.00, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $324.39 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Argus increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.47.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.