Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is XML Financial LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

XML Financial LLC lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 62,349 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,146 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.8% of XML Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $27,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 6,448 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Arbor Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $852,000. Fountainhead AM LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 5,492 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,313,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 113,964 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,899,000 after buying an additional 9,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. New Street Research started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $435.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $468.35. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $420.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $424.33.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 0.76%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company 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.