United Services Automobile Association Lowers Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

United Services Automobile Association decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 210,208 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 10,976 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 2.4% of United Services Automobile Association’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $93,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 13.2% in the first quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 102,045 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,933,000 after buying an additional 11,875 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 642,356 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $270,252,000 after buying an additional 12,092 shares during the period. Bennett Selby Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the first quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 18,456 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,765,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. ONE Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth about $222,000. Finally, O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the first quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 2,214 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $931,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $424.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $420.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.56. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $326.94 and a one year high of $468.35. 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 cap of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.77, 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 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.58.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.