Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,262 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.3% of Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. 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 acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth $5,587,119,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings 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 bought a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth about $989,814,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $846,072,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $416.32 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $324.39 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $417.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.68.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.47.

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.