Cypress Capital Group Decreases Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cypress Capital Group lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,472 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 757 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.5% of Cypress Capital Group’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its holdings in Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $430.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $419.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.10. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $311.21 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.94.

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.