Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is MKT Advisors LLC’s 5th Largest Position

MKT Advisors LLC reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,097 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,575 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.9% of MKT Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. MKT Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Perennial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC now owns 76,301 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,984,000 after acquiring an additional 5,698 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,597 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,014,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 528.9% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 20,413 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,944,000 after acquiring an additional 17,167 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 151,826 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $51,703,000 after acquiring an additional 5,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 162,212 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $55,240,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $369.85 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $336.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.64. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $219.35 and a 12 month high of $376.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $415.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Microsoft from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Microsoft from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

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

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.