Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lowered by LWM Advisory Services LLC

LWM Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 15.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,282 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,378 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.7% of LWM Advisory Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. LWM Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Bellevue Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $431.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.57, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $331.83 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $420.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.65. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 28.11%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction 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 $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. 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. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.