Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC Has $2.81 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,239 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,166 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.9% of Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 112,158.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,017,948,000 after acquiring an additional 150,053,637 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35,465.9% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $66,852,000 after buying an additional 20,553,188 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 29,789.2% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,570,893 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,477,000 after buying an additional 16,515,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,638,815,000 after buying an additional 14,652,150 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $356.53 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $219.35 and a one year high of $366.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $328.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $326.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The firm had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Argus upped their price target on Microsoft from $371.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. HSBC upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $347.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.