Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Gruss & Co. LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Gruss & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,000 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 9.7% of Gruss & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Gruss & Co. LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $281,035,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078,099 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,160,020,000 after acquiring an additional 842,884 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second 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 increased its position in Microsoft by 2.7% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,640,068 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,096,428,000 after acquiring an additional 360,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position 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 valued at $5,019,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613,050 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents 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 this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents 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 this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $426.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $420.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.58. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $331.83 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $502.97.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.