Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Reduces Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,604 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 211 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.2% of Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. 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 three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $428.02 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $419.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $425.06. The company has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.94.

Microsoft 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.