Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Increased by Alaethes Wealth LLC

Alaethes Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,029 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.7% of Alaethes Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Alaethes Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in 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. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. 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. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $425.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.10, 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 $420.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.80. 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 $360.36 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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

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.