Freedom Day Solutions LLC Has $7.46 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Freedom Day Solutions LLC reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,701 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 29 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.5% of Freedom Day Solutions LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Freedom Day Solutions LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,920,047,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after buying an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at about $5,587,119,000. TCI Fund Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $4,000,376,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Microsoft by 77.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,281,925 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,642,931,000 after acquiring an additional 2,744,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $435.27 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $309.45 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $420.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $424.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.72.

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.