Chicago Capital LLC Buys 10,306 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Chicago Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 269,385 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,306 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.6% of Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $120,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $281,035,506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078,099 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,160,020,000 after acquiring an additional 842,884 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,587,576,000 after acquiring an additional 45,220 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,640,068 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,096,428,000 after acquiring an additional 360,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 15.6% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,931,721 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,019,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613,050 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s 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 owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1 %

Microsoft stock opened at $418.78 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $324.39 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $419.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $485.00 to $470.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.