Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Canal Capital Management LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Canal Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,799 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 534 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.4% of Canal Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Canal Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $250,032,357,000 after buying an additional 15,701,937 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at $5,587,119,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Microsoft by 77.6% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,281,925 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,642,931,000 after purchasing an additional 2,744,900 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth about $989,814,000. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $846,072,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $415.84 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $417.79 and a 200-day moving average of $424.74. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $324.39 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.47.

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.