Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Trimmed by Belpointe Asset Management LLC

Belpointe Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,305 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 259 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 2.4% of Belpointe Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Belpointe Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $34,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 507,480 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $226,818,000 after buying an additional 4,650 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 33,941 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,170,000 after buying an additional 2,330 shares in the last quarter. Index Fund Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Index Fund Advisors Inc. now owns 6,292 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,812,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 56,730 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,355,000 after buying an additional 2,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 31,574 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,112,000 after buying an additional 6,435 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $418.16 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $419.66 and its 200-day moving average is $424.49. 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 has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $324.39 and a 52 week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 28.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.68.

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.