Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,471,708 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 18,255 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 9.0% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $657,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 13,900 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,212,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. Affiance Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.4% during the second quarter. Affiance Financial LLC now owns 12,185 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,446,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,587,576,000 after acquiring an additional 45,220 shares in the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 23.9% in the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 13,200 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,899,000 after acquiring an additional 2,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 3.3% in the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 312,006 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $139,451,000 after acquiring an additional 9,860 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.47.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $416.12 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $419.14 and its 200-day moving average is $424.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 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. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $324.39 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date 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 28.74%.

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.