Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Decreased by Waterfront Wealth Inc.

Waterfront Wealth Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,616 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 296 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 1.8% of Waterfront Wealth Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Waterfront Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. 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. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was 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 owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was 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 approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.47.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $416.32 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $417.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $324.39 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. 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 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

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.