Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Vanderbilt University’s 8th Largest Position

Vanderbilt University raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,798 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,565 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.5% of Vanderbilt University’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,699,000. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,489 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,900,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 55,964 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,013,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.9% during the second quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 50,742 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $22,679,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research 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, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.90.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $438.11 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $366.50 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $428.65 and its 200-day moving average is $428.86.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.