Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by WCG Wealth Advisors LLC

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,913 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,148 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.4% of WCG Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. LJI Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the second quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,987 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,017,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Capco Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capco Asset Management LLC now owns 105,066 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the period. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 13,942 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,231,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 2,169 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the second quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 935 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Argus lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $411.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $420.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $353.35 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 24.75%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

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 directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 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 sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.