BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 17.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,423 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,056 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 0.5% of BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth $75,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its position in Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter valued at about $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.47.
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 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 corporate insiders.
Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %
Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $418.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $418.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.65. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $324.39 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.74%.
Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
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.
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