Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lowered by Miramar Capital LLC

Miramar Capital LLC reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,952 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 970 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 6.1% of Miramar Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Miramar Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $24,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Microsoft by 30.8% in the second quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 935 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,558 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,825,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 31,640 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,141,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 13,229 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,912,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beck Bode LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 39,951 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,856,000 after acquiring an additional 10,847 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Argus increased their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. 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 can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $408.46 on Tuesday. 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 1-year low of $353.35 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $420.59 and a 200-day moving average of $424.74.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.