Connors Investor Services Inc. Has $44.81 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Connors Investor Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 100,263 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,293 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.7% of Connors Investor Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $44,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $281,035,506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078,099 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,160,020,000 after purchasing an additional 842,884 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 6.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,091,789 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,768,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,533 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,587,576,000 after purchasing an additional 45,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.7% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,640,068 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,096,428,000 after purchasing an additional 360,171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $410.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.77 and a one year high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $420.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $424.71.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.