Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Scholtz & Company LLC

Scholtz & Company LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,841 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 317 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 10.4% of Scholtz & Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Scholtz & Company LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $24,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $75,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at about $80,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, 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 $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Microsoft from $485.00 to $470.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $502.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $431.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.57, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $420.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $331.83 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $64.73 billion during 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%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.11%.

Microsoft 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.