Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Lifted by Two Point Capital Management Inc.

Two Point Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,964 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 10.1% of Two Point Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Two Point Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 22,290 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,382,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,342,000. ARK & TLK Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $784,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,679,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $2,377,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.47.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $419.14 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $418.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.67. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $324.39 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change 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 yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.74%.

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Microsoft

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.