Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,792 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 4.2% of Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $38,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.79 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $362.90 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $421.69 and its 200-day moving average is $426.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company 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 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 0.79%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 209,431 shares of company stock worth $85,796,688 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.