Hanlon Investment Management Inc. Raises Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hanlon Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,431 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 0.9% of Hanlon Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Hanlon Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Seven Post Investment Office LP boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 213.4% during the second quarter. Seven Post Investment Office LP now owns 6,462 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC now owns 5,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Gentry Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,151,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 19,577 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,750,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 37,802 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,896,000 after buying an additional 2,549 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction 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 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 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $418.78 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $324.39 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $419.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $424.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

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 company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.