Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Invests $18.88 Million in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 40,376 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $18,878,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.3% of Heritage Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazari Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.4% during the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,087 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,743,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cim LLC now owns 11,975 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,890,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $361,162,000. Clear Rock Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the second quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,711 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,340,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creekside Partners acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,879,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer downgraded Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $415.00 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $362.90 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $422.34 and a 200-day moving average of $425.53.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 197,829 shares of company stock worth $80,966,837. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.