Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,577 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 5.9% of Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its holdings in Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter valued at $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $418.78 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $419.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.55. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $324.39 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.26, a P/E/G 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target 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 research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last quarter. 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.