Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Raised by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,329 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.2% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.94.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $430.30 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $311.21 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $419.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $425.10.

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

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

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.