Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by SPC Financial Inc.

SPC Financial Inc. increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,121 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.1% of SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $281,035,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078,099 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,160,020,000 after purchasing an additional 842,884 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,767,000 after purchasing an additional 97,075 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,091,789 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,768,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,587,576,000 after purchasing an additional 45,220 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft 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 transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 197,829 shares of company stock worth $80,966,837. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $415.00 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $362.90 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $422.08 and its 200-day moving average is $425.44.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 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 yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

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.