Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. Acquires 628 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,213 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.4% of Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $432.11 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $420.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management 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 an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

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.