Greenleaf Trust Has $142.25 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 330,573 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,315 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.3% of Greenleaf Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $142,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,767,000 after purchasing an additional 97,075 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Microsoft by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,091,789 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,768,771,000 after buying an additional 1,563,533 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,587,576,000 after acquiring an additional 45,220 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,890,530,000 after acquiring an additional 49,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,462,919 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,822,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,410 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $454.46 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $366.50 and a one year high of $468.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $425.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $428.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 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 business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $505.43.

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.