Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Raised by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 25.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 250,657 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,273 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 7.9% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $112,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the second quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 12,325 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,509,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Financial Planning Group LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,381,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 718,126 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $320,966,000 after buying an additional 7,547 shares during the period. Financial Alternatives Inc grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 15.3% in the second quarter. Financial Alternatives Inc now owns 679 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.1% in the second quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 23,822 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Microsoft 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 value 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. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $502.97.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $431.95 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $331.83 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $420.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 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.