Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,677 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,008 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.7% of Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $31,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,396,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 10,761 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,665,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Planning Center Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Planning Center Inc. now owns 4,849 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 1,518,749 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $437,855,000 after buying an additional 94,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 19,877 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,769,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $352.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.88. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $213.43 and a twelve month high of $366.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $328.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $326.42.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim raised shares of Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $347.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $384.34.

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.