Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Strategic Advisors LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Strategic Advisors LLC lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,942 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,083 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 5.8% of Strategic Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackDiamond Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 5.7% during the second quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,697 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,052,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 6.1% during the second quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 6,372 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 4.0% during the second quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC now owns 7,378 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,513,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 33.8% during the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Advisors LLC ADV purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $219,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $369.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $332.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.43. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $219.35 and a 52 week high of $370.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim upgraded Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $385.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $384.34.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.